Effects of boundary condition on shrinkage vectors of a flowable composite in experimental cavity models made of dental substrates.

OBJECTIVES: Bond strength to enamel and dentin depends on the bonding approach or condition. This study investigated the effects of the boundary conditions, in terms of the bonding substrate and the bonding condition, on the shrinkage vectors of a flowable composite. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An experimental cylindrical cavity (diameter = 6 mm, depth = 3 mm) consisting of the enamel floor and the surrounding dentin cavity walls was prepared for the "enamel-floor" group. Cylindrical cavities of the same dimensions were prepared with access from the occlusal enamel into dentin and served as controls. Each cavity model group was divided and bonded with two bonding conditions (n = 9): a self-etch (Adper Easy Bond, 3M ESPE) and a total-etch approach (OptiBond FL, Kerr). The composite (Tetric EvoFlow, Ivoclar Vivadent) was mixed with glass beads, applied to the cavity, scanned twice by micro-CT (uncured and cured states). The scans were evaluated by rigid registration, sphere segmentation, and registration for computing shrinkage vectors. RESULTS: The free surface of all restorations moved downward. The shrinkage vectors in the experimental cavity model pointed downward towards the enamel cavity floor, and the net axial movement was downward. In the control group, shrinkage vectors additionally moved upward, away from the cavity floor. The effect of the bonding substrate and the bonding condition was investigated for the shrinkage vectors and the axial movement (univariate ANOVA). CONCLUSION: The bonding substrate, enamel, influenced the shrinkage vectors' direction, while the bonding condition caused only variations in the magnitude. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Bonding to enamel influences shrinkage vectors' direction, while the bonding condition plays only a minor role. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Repair of silorane-based dental composites: influence of surface treatments.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of our study was to evaluate the effects of surface treatment on the microtensile bond strength (MTBS) of repaired silorane-based composites (Filtek Silorane (Silorane), 3M ESPE). METHODS: The surfaces of the aged Silorane blocks (6 mm × 6 mm × 5 mm) were ground with 320-grit SiC paper. The subsequent surface treatments were: no treatment, bonding agent, acetone, acetone+bonding agent, ethanol, ethanol+bonding agent, silane and silane+bonding agent. Another group made from Silorane without repair served as positive control. New Silorane was bonded onto the treated samples. The MTBS test was performed (1mm/min) with beam-shaped sticks (1.0 mm × 1.0 mm × 10 mm) before and after fatigue simulation (FS). The Weibull moduli for the MTBS data were also calculated. The fracture modes were examined with an optical microscope. The aged specimens after grinding were observed in a SEM and the percentage of uncovered filler surface in relation to the whole surface was calculated. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the no treatment group and the acetone only or ethanol only groups. Bonding agent improved the MTBS and the Weibull modulus. Although the SEM image revealed only 5.1% of uncovered filler surface, silane improved the MTBS. The groups with silane and bonding agent had the highest strength values except two groups and showed a fairly large number of cohesive failures. However, after FS, the differences between almost all groups were insignificant. FS increased the MTBS of almost all groups. SIGNIFICANCE: The application of silane and bonding agent enhanced the initial repair strength.

Effect of different surface treatments on the repair strength of a nanofilled resin-based composite.

The purpose of our study was to re-evaluate the effects of surface treatment on the bond strength of repaired methacrylate-based dental composite materials including nanofillers (Ceram X, Dentsply). The microtensile bond strengths were measured before or after thermo-mechanical fatigue simulation. The treatments were as follows: (1)No treatment (negative control), (2)Bonding agent, (3) Acetone, (4)Acetone+Bonding agent, (5)Silane, (6)Silane+Bonding agent. In the digitized SEM image of the polished aged specimens without any surface treatment, the percentage of the visible fillers relative to the whole image was calculated. Before and after fatigue, no significant differences could be observed among the different pretreatment groups. Fatigue increased the microtensile strength values of Acetone and Silane groups. The digitized SEM image reveals that 11.5% of the exposed surface could be identified as uncovered filler surface. None of surface treatments (acetone, silane and bonding agent) contributed to increase the tensile strength of repaired composite samples including nanofillers.

In vitro assessment of human dentin wear resulting from toothbrushing.

It is well-recognized that toothbrushing is the most widely used method for daily oral hygiene maintenance. This in vitro study examines dentin surface wear resulting from the use of an oral hygiene device in a controlled oral condition. Powered toothbrushes produce less wear than manual brushes. However, depending on their design and applied forces, they can also produce varying levels of dentin wear.