Extensive Assessment of the Physical, Mechanical, and Adhesion Behavior of a Low-viscosity Bulk Fill Composite and a Traditional Resin Composite in Tooth Cavities.

OBJECTIVES

To compare the degree of conversion (DC), depth of polymerization (DP), shrinkage stress (SS), flexural strength (FS), elastic modulus (EM), and bond strength (BS) of a low-viscosity bulk fill resin composite and a paste-like traditional composite.

METHODS

Tetric Evo-Flow Bulk Fill (TBF) and Empress Direct (ED; Ivoclar Vivadent) composites were used. DC (%) and FS/EM (MPa/GPa) were evaluated in bar specimens (7×2×1 mm; n=10) using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and a three-point bending test in a universal testing machine (UTM), respectively. For DP and BS tests, conical cavities (n=10) were prepared in bovine dentin and restored with the composites. DP was analyzed by calculating the bottom-to-top surface microhardness ratio (BTHR), and BS (MPa) was determined by push-out testing in the UTM. SS (MPa) was measured for one increment of TBF and two increments of ED in a UTM attached to an extensometer (n=5). Data were analyzed using Student t-test and analysis of variance (α=0.05).

RESULTS

TBF presented higher values than ED for DC (85.7±6.6% vs 54.2±4.9%) and BS (0.95±0.70 MPa vs 0.35±0.15 MPa). TBF values were lower than ED values for FS (76.6±16.8 MPa vs 144.9±24.1 MPa) and maximum SS (0.77±0.07 MPa vs 1.07±0.15 MPa). TBF and ED values were similar for BTHR (0.83±0.16 vs 0.84±0.08) and EM (11.5±2.8 GPa vs 12.5±2.6 GPa).

CONCLUSIONS

The physical and mechanical properties of TBF, a bulk fill resin composite, were similar or superior to those of ED, a conventional composite, with the exception of FS measurements.