Response of Differently Structured Dental Polymer-Based Composites to Increasingly Aggressive Aging Conditions

Objective: It is hypothesized that the way nano- and micro-hybrid polymer-based composites are structured and cured impacts the way they respond to aging. Material and methods: A polymer–ceramic interpenetrating network composite (Vita Enamic/VE), an industrially polymerized (Brillinat CriosST/BC),...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Nicoleta Ilie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-01-01
Series:Nanomaterials
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/1/74
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1841549097420455936
author Nicoleta Ilie
author_facet Nicoleta Ilie
author_sort Nicoleta Ilie
collection DOAJ
description Objective: It is hypothesized that the way nano- and micro-hybrid polymer-based composites are structured and cured impacts the way they respond to aging. Material and methods: A polymer–ceramic interpenetrating network composite (Vita Enamic/VE), an industrially polymerized (Brillinat CriosST/BC), and an in situ light-cured composite with discrete inorganic fillers (Admira Fusion5/AF5) were selected. Specimens (308) were either cut from CAD/CAM blocks (VE/BC) or condensed and cured in white polyoxymethylene molds (AF5) and subjected to four different aging conditions (<i>n</i> = 22): (a) 24 h storage in distilled water at 37 °C; (b) 24 h storage in distilled water at 37 °C followed by thermal cycling for 10,000 cycles 5/55 °C (TC); (c) TC followed by storage in a 75% ethanol–water solution; and (d) TC followed by a 3-week demineralization/remineralization cycling. CAD/CAM samples were also measured dry before the aging process. Three-point bending test, quantitative and qualitative fractography, instrumented indentation test (IIT), SEM, and reliability analyses were used. Uni- and multifactorial ANOVA, Tukey’s post hoc test, and Weibull analysis were performed for statistical analysis. Results: A significant (<i>p</i> < 0.001) and very strong effect of the parameter material was observed (η<sub>P</sub><sup>2</sup> > 0.9). VE exhibited two to three times higher elastic moduli and hardness parameters compared to BC and AF5, which were comparable. Strength was highest in BC but was accompanied by high beam deformation. The effect of aging was comparatively smaller and was more evident in the IIT parameters than in the flexural strength or modulus. Reliability was high (m > 15) in VE and BC, regardless of aging protocol, while it was significantly reduced in AF5 following aging protocols b-d. Conclusions: TC was the method of artificial aging with a significant impact on the measured parameters, while demineralization/remineralization cycling had little or no impact. Clinical relevance: The degradation of composites occurred irrespective of the structuring and curing method and manifested in a low deterioration in the measured properties.
format Article
id doaj-art-c46ec30a6f544e0b913d58953d9ebd76
institution Kabale University
issn 2079-4991
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Nanomaterials
spelling doaj-art-c46ec30a6f544e0b913d58953d9ebd762025-01-10T13:19:26ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912025-01-011517410.3390/nano15010074Response of Differently Structured Dental Polymer-Based Composites to Increasingly Aggressive Aging ConditionsNicoleta Ilie0Department of Conservative Dentistry, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Goethestr. 70, D-80336 Munich, GermanyObjective: It is hypothesized that the way nano- and micro-hybrid polymer-based composites are structured and cured impacts the way they respond to aging. Material and methods: A polymer–ceramic interpenetrating network composite (Vita Enamic/VE), an industrially polymerized (Brillinat CriosST/BC), and an in situ light-cured composite with discrete inorganic fillers (Admira Fusion5/AF5) were selected. Specimens (308) were either cut from CAD/CAM blocks (VE/BC) or condensed and cured in white polyoxymethylene molds (AF5) and subjected to four different aging conditions (<i>n</i> = 22): (a) 24 h storage in distilled water at 37 °C; (b) 24 h storage in distilled water at 37 °C followed by thermal cycling for 10,000 cycles 5/55 °C (TC); (c) TC followed by storage in a 75% ethanol–water solution; and (d) TC followed by a 3-week demineralization/remineralization cycling. CAD/CAM samples were also measured dry before the aging process. Three-point bending test, quantitative and qualitative fractography, instrumented indentation test (IIT), SEM, and reliability analyses were used. Uni- and multifactorial ANOVA, Tukey’s post hoc test, and Weibull analysis were performed for statistical analysis. Results: A significant (<i>p</i> < 0.001) and very strong effect of the parameter material was observed (η<sub>P</sub><sup>2</sup> > 0.9). VE exhibited two to three times higher elastic moduli and hardness parameters compared to BC and AF5, which were comparable. Strength was highest in BC but was accompanied by high beam deformation. The effect of aging was comparatively smaller and was more evident in the IIT parameters than in the flexural strength or modulus. Reliability was high (m > 15) in VE and BC, regardless of aging protocol, while it was significantly reduced in AF5 following aging protocols b-d. Conclusions: TC was the method of artificial aging with a significant impact on the measured parameters, while demineralization/remineralization cycling had little or no impact. Clinical relevance: The degradation of composites occurred irrespective of the structuring and curing method and manifested in a low deterioration in the measured properties.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/1/74nano-hybrid compositesfractographythree-point-bending teststrengthCAD/CAMinterpenetrating network
spellingShingle Nicoleta Ilie
Response of Differently Structured Dental Polymer-Based Composites to Increasingly Aggressive Aging Conditions
Nanomaterials
nano-hybrid composites
fractography
three-point-bending test
strength
CAD/CAM
interpenetrating network
title Response of Differently Structured Dental Polymer-Based Composites to Increasingly Aggressive Aging Conditions
title_full Response of Differently Structured Dental Polymer-Based Composites to Increasingly Aggressive Aging Conditions
title_fullStr Response of Differently Structured Dental Polymer-Based Composites to Increasingly Aggressive Aging Conditions
title_full_unstemmed Response of Differently Structured Dental Polymer-Based Composites to Increasingly Aggressive Aging Conditions
title_short Response of Differently Structured Dental Polymer-Based Composites to Increasingly Aggressive Aging Conditions
title_sort response of differently structured dental polymer based composites to increasingly aggressive aging conditions
topic nano-hybrid composites
fractography
three-point-bending test
strength
CAD/CAM
interpenetrating network
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/1/74
work_keys_str_mv AT nicoletailie responseofdifferentlystructureddentalpolymerbasedcompositestoincreasinglyaggressiveagingconditions