Effect of intratooth location and thermomechanical cycling on microtensile bond strength of bulk-fill composite resin

Effect of Polywave and Monowave Light Curing Units on the Microtensile Bond Strength and Failure Types of Different Bulk-Fill Resin Composites: An in vitro Study

Aim

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of polywave and monowave light-emitting diode curing units on the microtensile bond strength and failure types of three bulk-fill resin composites.

Materials and Methods

This in vitro experimental study was performed on 180 microbars obtained from human third molars and were distributed into 12 groups according to the type of bulk-fill resin composite and the light-curing unit. Third molars were restored using Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative, Tetric® N-Ceram Bulk Fill, and Opus Bulk Fill resin composites was light-cured with Elipar Deep Cure L and Valo in three modes: standard, high power, and extra power. Subsequently, microtensile analysis was carried out with a universal testing machine and the type of failure with an optical stereomicroscope. For statistical analysis, the Kruskal-Wallis H-test was used, with the Bonferroni post hoc test and Fisher's exact test, considering a significance of p<0.05.

Results

There were significant differences in the microtensile bond strength between the Filtek One Bulk Fill restorative and Opus Bulk-Fill (p = 0.042) when light was cured with the polywave unit at standard power. On the other hand, the Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative and Opus Bulk Fill resins showed significant differences in microtensile bond strength when light was cured with the monowave unit compared with the polywave unit (p<0.05).

Conclusion

The presence of alternative photoinitiator systems that are more reactive than camphorquinone produced higher microtensile bond strength in Tetric N-Ceram Bulk Fill and Opus Bulk Fill resins when light-cured with a high and standard polywave unit, respectively, compared to Filtek One Bulk Fill resins. Finally, Tetric N-Ceram Bulk Fill and Opus Bulk Fill resins had the highest percentage of mixed failures, while Filtek One Bulk Fill resin had adhesive failures, which was related to its lower microtensile bond strength.

Effects of S. mutans gene-modification and antibacterial calcium phosphate nanocomposite on secondary caries and marginal enamel hardness

Secondary caries at the restoration-tooth margins is a main reason for dental restoration failures. Gene-modification for Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) and composites containing dimethylaminohexadecyl methacrylate (DMAHDMA) and nanoparticles of amorphous calcium phosphate (NACP) all have the potential to suppress bacterial acids and promote remineralization. However, there has been no report of their effects on marginal caries-inhibition and enamel hardness. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of gene-modification and DMAHDM–NACP composite restoration on enamel demineralization and hardness at the margins under biofilm acids for the first time. Parent S. mutans and rnc gene-deleted S. mutans were tested side by side. The bioactive composite contained 3% DMAHDM and 30% NACP. Mechanical properties and calcium (Ca) and phosphate (P) ion releases were measured. Colony-forming units (CFU), MTT, lactic acid and polysaccharide of biofilms were evaluated. Demineralization of bovine enamel with composite restorations was induced via biofilms, then enamel hardness was measured. The dual strategy of combining rnc-deletion with DMAHDM+30NACP: (1) achieved the strongest biofilm-inhibition, with the greatest reduction in biofilm CFU by 6 logs; (2) decreased biofilm lactic acid and polysaccharide production by more than 80%; (3) achieved enamel hardness that was 140% higher than that of a commercial fluoride-releasing composite under 30 days of biofilm acids. Therefore, the novel dual approach of rnc gene-deletion and DMAHDM+NACP nanocomposite is promising to inhibit secondary caries at the margins and increase the longevity of tooth restorations.

Secondary caries at the restoration-tooth margins is a main reason for dental restoration failures.