Influence of shade and irradiation time on the hardness of composite resins

Polymerization characteristics of colored compomers cured with different LED units

Aim:

Incomplete polymerization of a resin material used for dental restoration affects the properties of the restoration. We evaluated the structural and mechanical properties of three different colored compomers cured with three different LED units to observe the characteristic changes occurring in different matches.

Methods:

Polytetrafluoroethylene molds (5 mm in diameter and 2 mm in thickness) were used to prepare disk-shaped sample specimens. Nine sample groups (each of five specimens) were prepared, three each of different compomer resin colors (gold, berry, and silver). Samples were cured using three different LED units (Optima, VALO, and Demi Ultra), according to the manufacturers’ instructions. Microstructural properties of samples were characterized by determining the degree of curing using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and by analyzing sample morphology under a scanning electron microscope. The Vickers hardness, compressive strength, and elastic modulus of the samples were measured to investigate their mechanical properties.

Results:

The degrees of curing decreased in the order of silver > berry > gold for all curing units. Conversely, gold compomers exhibited poorer mechanical values than the berry and silver counterparts. The Optima 10 unit yielded slightly higher degrees of curing than the other devices, followed by Demi Ultra and VALO light-curing units, respectively.

Conclusion:

The resin color affected the structural and mechanical properties of the compomers, possibly as a result of the complex interactions and relationships between the irradiation light and resin material, such as light absorbance and reflectance; thus, depending on the color as well as the curing protocol.

Effects of a bleaching agent on properties of commercial glass-ionomer cements

Objectives

This study evaluated the effects of a bleaching agent on the composition, mechanical properties, and surface topography of 6 conventional glass-ionomer cements (GICs) and one resin-modified GIC.

Materials and Methods

For 3 days, the specimens were subjected to three 20-minute applications of a 37% H₂O₂-based bleaching agent and evaluated for water uptake (WTK), weight loss (WL), compressive strength (CS), and Knoop hardness number (KHN). Changes in surface topography and chemical element distribution were also analyzed by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. For statistical evaluation, the Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon paired tests (α = 0.05) were used to evaluate WTK and WL. CS specimens were subjected to 2-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Tukey post hoc test (α = 0.05), and KH was evaluated by one-way ANOVA, the Holm-Sidak post hoc test (α = 0.05), and the t-test for independent samples (α = 0.05).

Results

The bleaching agent increased the WTK of Maxxion R, but did not affect the WL of any GICs. It had various effects on the CS, KHN, surface topography, and the chemical element distribution of the GICs.

Conclusions

The bleaching agent with 37% H₂O₂ affected the mechanical and surface properties of GICs. The extent of the changes seemed to be dependent on exposure time and cement composition.

Structural and mechanical properties of a giomer-based bulk fill restorative in different curing conditions

Objective

The main goal of this study was to compare the polymerization degree of bulk-fill giomer resin cured with three different light-curing units (LCUs): a polywave third-generation (Valo); a monowave (DemiUltra: DU); and a second-generation LED (Optima 10: Opt) LCUs by using structural and mechanical properties.

Material and methods

Giomer samples of 2 and 4 mm cured with three LCUs were employed in vitro analysis. The degree of curing (DC%) was determined with Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Microstructural features were observed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Flexural strength (FS), compression strength (CS), elastic modulus and fracturing strain were determined for mechanical properties. Surface microhardness (SMH) values were also measured. Oneway ANOVA, two-way analysis of variance and Tukey multiple comparison tests were used for statistically analyzing the FS and SMH.

Results

DC% values were 58.2, 47.6, and 39.7 for the 2 mm samples cured with DU, Opt., and Valo LCUs, respectively. DC% values of the 4 mm samples were 50.4, 44.6, and 38.2 for DU, Opt, and Valo, respectively. SMH values were Valo, Opt<DU at top of the samples; Valo<DU, Opt at 2 mm, and DU, Valo<Opt at 4 mm depth. Giomer samples cured with Opt and DU exhibited higher FS values than Valo. CS values were similar but compressive modulus and fracturing strain (%) varied depending on the curing protocol.

Conclusions

Based on the results, it can be concluded that curing device and protocol strongly affect crosslinking reactions and thus DC%, SMH, compressive modulus and strain at break values. Consequently, it can be deduced that curing protocol is possibly the most important parameter for microstructure formation of highly-filled composite restoratives because it may bring some structural defects and physical frailties on restorations due to lower degree of polymerization.

Curing effectiveness of single-peak and multi-peak led light curing units on tpo-containing resin composites with different chromatic characteristics

This study evaluated the surface microhardness of Lucirin-TPO (TPO) containing resin based composite (RBC) cured with three light-emitting diode (LED) light curing units (LCUs) (two single-peak LED and one multi-peak LED), and two different energy density (ED) (8 J/cm² and 16 J/cm²). Ninety specimens (8 mm wide and 2 mm thick) (n=5), were prepared with three different shades: translucent (T), A2 dentin (A2d), and A4 dentin (A4d). Specimens were subjected to micro-hardness Vickers measurements (Vickers Hardness Number, VHN) on both top and bottom surfaces. Hardness ratio (rHV) was also calculated. Data were analyzed using multifactorial ANOVA and Bonferroni tests (<=0.05). Results indicated that higher ED performed better than lower ED. Multi-peak LED achieved higher VHNs and rHV than single-peak LED when curing a TPO-containing RBC. A4d invariably achieved lower rHV and VHN than T and A2d. Single-peak LED achieved comparable VHNs and rHVs with multi-peak LED only curing A2d and T shades with 16J/cm².

The Effect of UDMA/TEGDMA Mixtures and Bioglass Incorporation on the Mechanical and Physical Properties of Resin and Resin-Based Composite Materials

Incorporating Bioglass into dental composites may improve biocompatibility and aid tooth and bone tissue remineralisation. This study aimed to determine the impact of Bioglass and silica filler on the mechanical and physical properties of cured photopolymers. Hardness (Vickers microhardness test), flexural strength (FS), and flexural modulus (FM) (three-point bend test) of resins containing various urethane dimethacrylate (UDMA)/triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) and bisphenol A-glycidyl methacrylate (bisGMA)/TEGDMA concentrations (20–80 mass%) were tested. Degree of conversion (DC), FS, and FM of resin composites containing nonsilanised irregular 45S5-Bioglass (50 μm; 5–40 mass%) and/or silanised silicate glass filler particulates (0.7 μm; 30–70 mass%) were tested. Data was analysed using one-way ANOVA. UDMA/TEGDMA resins exhibited increased hardness and FM compared with bisGMA/TEGDMA resins. Addition of Bioglass particles to 60/40 wt% UDMA/TEGDMA or bisGMA/TEGDMA resins may enable the development of new materials that exhibit higher or at least equivalent values of DC, FS, and FM compared with conventional resin composites.

Effect of a multi-layer infection control barrier on the micro-hardness of a composite resin

Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of multiple layers of an infection control barrier on the micro-hardness of a composite resin.

Material and Methods

One, two, four, and eight layers of an infection control barrier were used to cover the light guides of a high-power light emitting diode (LED) light curing unit (LCU) and a low-power halogen LCU. The composite specimens were photopolymerized with the LCUs and the barriers, and the micro-hardness of the upper and lower surfaces was measured (n=10). The hardness ratio was calculated by dividing the bottom surface hardness of the experimental groups by the irradiated surface hardness of the control groups. The data was analyzed by two-way ANOVA and Tukey's HSD test.

Results

The micro-hardness of the composite specimens photopolymerized with the LED LCU decreased significantly in the four- and eight-layer groups of the upper surface and in the two-, four-, and eight-layer groups of the lower surface. The hardness ratio of the composite specimens was <80% in the eight-layer group. The micro-hardness of the composite specimens photopolymerized with the halogen LCU decreased significantly in the eight-layer group of the upper surface and in the two-, four-, and eight-layer groups of the lower surface. However, the hardness ratios of all the composite specimens photopolymerized with barriers were <80%.

Conclusions

The two-layer infection control barrier could be used on high-power LCUs without decreasing the surface hardness of the composite resin. However, when using an infection control barrier on the low-power LCUs, attention should be paid so as not to sacrifice the polymerization efficiency.