The bulk compressive creep and recovery behavior of human dentine and resin-based dental materials.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate and compare the viscoelastic properties of dentine and resin-based dental materials by bulk compressive test and the Burgers model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sound dentine, three resin composites as well as a resin-based cement were prepared into cylindrical specimens (n = 8). A bulk compressive creep test was applied with a constant load of 300 N (23.9 MPa) for 2 h, followed by another 2 h recovery. The maximum strain, creep stain, percentage of recovery and permanent set was measured using a linear variable displacement transducer. The viscoelastic properties were characterized via the Burgers model, and the instantaneous elastic, viscous as well as elastic delayed deformation were separated from the total strain. Data were analysed via ANOVA (or Welch's Test) and Tukey (or Games-Howell Test) with a significance level of 0.05. RESULTS: Sound dentine presented the lowest maximum strain, creep strain, permanent set and the highest percentage of recovery, followed by 3 resin composites with comparable parameters, while the cement showed a significantly higher maximum strain, permanent set and lower percentage of recovery (p < 0.001). The Burgers model presented acceptable fits for characterization viscoelastic processes of both dentine and resin-based dental materials. Viscous and elastic delayed strain of dentine was significantly lower than those for tested materials (p < 0.001) with the highest instantaneous elastic strain percentage. Similar viscous and delayed strain was found among the 4 resin-based materials (p > 0.05). SIGNIFICANCE: Sound dentine exhibited superior creep stability compared to resin-based dental materials. The viscous deformation in sound dentine could be ignored when loading parallel to dentine tubules.

Determination of viscoelastic-plastic material parameters of biomaterials by instrumented indentation.

Load response of viscoelastic-plastic materials depends on the load magnitude and history, and can be described by rheological models consisting of springs and dashpots. The parameters in these models can be obtained by instrumented indentation. Time-dependent properties are determined best from the time course of indenter displacement under constant load, but one must consider also the initial loading history. For characterization of instantaneous elastic and plastic response, fast loading and unloading are necessary. The paper summarizes the formulae for indentation into elastic-plastic and viscoelastic-plastic materials, and proposes a procedure for testing and data evaluation. Its application is illustrated on the indentation of human enamel.