Modeling Liquids and Resin-Based Dental Composite Materials—A Scoping Review

Translucency of bulk-fill composite materials: A systematic review

OBJECTIVES

To conduct a systematic review on the translucency of bulk-fill (BF) composite materials, evaluating the factors influencing it and its clinical implications.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A systematic search was performed on four databases (Embase, Medline/PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) for articles published until October 2, 2023. Search terms were: "translucency," "translucency parameter," "contrast," "contrast ratio," "bulk," "bulk-fill," "bulk fill," "composite," "resin," "resin based," "resin-based," "restoration," and "dental." In vitro studies, written in English language, investigating BF resin-based composites translucency were included. The risk of bias was performed with the RoBDEMAT tool.

RESULTS

Of 590 screened articles, 13 were included in this review. They investigated 11 high-viscosity BF and 5 low viscosity ones. The limited number of the identified studies and the heterogeneity of the extracted data did not allow to conduct a meta-analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

BF materials exhibit variability in translucency due to variations in experimental designs and the heterogeneous composition.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

BFs may behave differently in masking the substrate or in blending capacity.

Dental Restorations

Fulfilling a patient's request for a healthy, functional and esthetic smile represents a daily challenge for dental practitioners [...].

Novel Dental Restorative Solutions for Natural Teeth and Implants

The long-term survival of restorations in the oral cavity has always been one of the most significant challenges in modern dental practice [...].

Effect of contamination of bulk-fill flowable resin composite with different contaminants during packing on its surface microhardness and compressive strength: in vitro study

Background

Proper isolation and restoration of class V subgingival cavities are technique sensitive, thus the resin composite restoration is liable to contamination. This in vitro study was conducted to evaluate the surface microhardness and compressive strength of bulk-fill flowable resin composite after being contaminated during its packing.

Methods

Resin composite discs were prepared using split mold. The contaminated specimens were allocated into four groups (n = 20) according to the contaminant used: hemostatic agent (Group 1), alcohol (Group 2), artificial saliva (Group 3) and powdered gloves (Group 4). The non-contaminated specimens (n = 20) were used as control group. The surface microhardness and compressive strength of each group were tested 1-day post-photocuring (n = 5) and 1 month post-photocuring (n = 5). Values were presented as mean, standard deviation values and confidence intervals.

Results

The surface microhardness of all groups didn’t show a significant difference for different tested groups except for alcohol which showed a significant reduction on surface microhardness compared to control at 1 day post-photocuring (p = 0.001). The highest compressive strength mean values at 1 day and 1 month post-photocuring were recorded in control groups (110.42 MPa and 172.87 MPa respectively), followed by alcohol groups, then hemostatic agent groups, followed by artificial saliva with the least value recorded in powdered gloves groups (56.71 MPa and 49.5 MPa respectively).

Conclusions

Contamination of bulk-fill flowable resin composite with hemostatic agent, alcohol, artificial saliva, or powdered gloves during its packing decreased its compressive strength after 1 month post-photocuring rather than affecting its surface microhardness.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12903-022-02495-6.