The simplistic approach to mechanical testing routinely employed in dental research does not recognize the many factors that influence the outcome, not least the non-existence of strength as a true material property. The roles of test time-scale, environmental interaction, and internal changes need evaluation. However, service conditions also involve multiple loading cycles which interact with other processes, while 'episodic' challenges are altogether outside the normal frame of testing. The case is made for testing that allows for dynamic damage-accumulation through a survival-curve approach. (C) Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2009