Assessment of the Effect of Acid and Base Cycling on Mechanical Properties of Various Esthetic Restorative Materials

Objective: The purpose of this study is the evaluation of the effect of pH cycling, including both acidic and alkaline environments, on the mechanical properties of tooth-colored restorative materials. Methods and Materials: 20 rectangular bar specimens of one bulk-fill restorative composite, two conventional nanohybrid restorative composites, and one restorative resin-modified glass ionomer were produced according to ISO 4049. Half of the materials were stored in an acid and base cycling defined as two-day storage in acidic (pH =4) and alkaline (pH=8) solutions. The rest of the materials were incubated in distilled water as a control group. The storage lasted for 48 days. Finally, flexural strength, elastic modulus, and microhardness of the specimens in each group determined. Data analyzed with Kruskal-Wallis, Dunn, MANOVA, Tukey HSD and T-test. Results: The pH cycling model had a significant influence on all mechanical properties of the bulk-fill restorative composite and resin-modified glass ionomer than those stored in water (P <0.05). One of the conventional nanohybrid restorative composites showed a significant reduction in elastic modulus and microhardness while the other one showed a significant reduction only in flexural strength. Conclusion: pH cycling negatively affects the mechanical properties of resin composites, and the materials’ composition is an important factor in the degradation of the resin-based materials examined.

Applicability of Exposure Reciprocity Law for Fast Polymerization of Restorative Composites Containing Various Photoinitiating Systems

SUMMARY Objectives: The exposure reciprocity law (ERL) has been used to calculate the optimal irradiation time of dental composites. This study examined the applicability of ERL for fast polymerization of restorative composites containing various photoinitiating systems using a high-power multi-peak light-emitting diode (LED) lamp. Methods: Three commercial composites differing in photoinitiating systems were tested: Filtek Ultimate Universal Restorative (FU) with a camphorquinone-amine (CQ-A) photoinitiating system, Tetric EvoCeram (TEC) with CQ-A and (2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)phosphine oxide (TPO), and Estelite Σ Quick (ESQ) with CQ and a radical amplified photopolymerization (RAP) initiator. Specimens 2-mm thick were polymerized using a high-power multipeak LED lamp (Valo) at 3 pairs of radiant exposures (referred to as low, moderate, and high) ranging from 15.8–26.7 J/cm2. They were achieved by different combinations of irradiation time (5–20 seconds) and irradiance (1300–2980 mW/cm2) as determined with a calibrated spectrometer. Knoop microhardness was measured 1, 24, and 168 hours after polymerization on specimen top (irradiated) and bottom surfaces to characterize the degree of polymerization. The results were statistically analyzed using a three-way analysis of variance and Tukey’s post hoc tests, α = 0.05. Results: Microhardness increased with radiant exposure and except for ESQ, top-surface microhardness was significantly higher than that on bottom surfaces. Combinations of high irradiance and short irradiation time significantly increased the top-surface microhardness of TEC at low and moderate radiant exposures, and the bottom-surface microhardness of FU at a low radiant exposure. In contrast, the microhardness of ESQ on both surfaces at high radiant exposure increased significantly when low irradiance and long irradiation time were used. With all tested composites, bottom-surface microhardness obtained at low radiant exposure was below 80% of the maximum top-surface microhardness, indicating insufficient polymerization. Conclusion: Combinations of irradiance and irradiation time had a significant effect on microhardness, which was affected by photoinitiators and the optical properties of composites as well as spectral characteristics of the polymerization lamp. Therefore, ERL cannot be universally applied for the calculation of optimal composite irradiation time. Despite high irradiance, fast polymerization led to insufficient bottom-surface microhardness, suggesting the necessity to also characterize the degree of polymerization on the bottom surfaces of composite increments when assessing the validity of ERL.

Influence of an Alkoxylation Grade of Acrylates on Shrinkage of UV-Curable Compositions

Commercially available UV curable restorative materials are composed of inorganic filler hydroxyapatite, multifunctional methacrylate, photoinitiator and alkoxylated acrylate. Especially, the application of alkoxylated monomers with different alkoxylation grade allows the reduction of polymerization shrinkage which plays the major role by application of low shrinkage composites as high quality restorative dental materials or other adhesive materials in the form of UV-polymerized self-adhesive acrylics layers (films). There are several ways to reduce polymerization shrinkage of restorative compositions, for example, by adjusting different alkoxylated acrylic monomers, which are integral part of investigated UV curable restorative composites. This article is focused on the studies of contraction-stress measured as shrinkage during UV-initiated curing of restorative composites containing various commercially available alkoxylated acrylates. Moreover, studies with experimental restorative materials and recent developments typical for UV curing technology using special photoreactive monomers are described.