Physico-mechanical evaluation of water sorption, solubility, flexural properties and surface hardness of newly developed aesthetic resin composites

Background: The selection of appropriate resins can enhance normal dental function, aesthetics and speech. Universal-shade resin composites exhibit barely indistinguishable color differences compared to conventional resin composites, allowing them to match nearly all shades of the surrounding tooth structure. Methods: To evaluate water sorption (WS), solubility (SL), flexural strength (σf ) and modulus of elasticity (Emod), as well as Vickers hardness (VHN) value of most currently developed aesthetic resin composites by comparing them with conventional resin composite. Universal-shade resin composite OMNICHROMA (OMNI; Tokuyama), Beautifil Unishade (BU; Shofu), Essentia (EN; GC), and A3 shade of aesthetic resin composites Harmonize (HM; Kerr), conventional resin composite Tetric-N-Ceram (TNC; Ivoclar Vivadent) were evaluated in this study. Twenty-five disk-shaped specimens with 15 mm in diameter and 1 mm in thickness (n = 5) were prepared from five tested composites. Volume and weight were recorded every 24 h of water immersion of resin composites (n = 5) for the calculation of WS and SL. Bar shaped specimens were sectioned from each material (n = 5), Emod and σf were evaluated using a three-point bending test. Bottom and top of the specimens (n = 3) of VHN were obtained for three spots using Vickers micro-hardness tester. Afterwards, bottom-top hardness ratio was calculated. One-way Analysis of Variance (One-way ANOVA), Tukey’s test, Kruskal-Wallis, Pearson’s correlation test, and Paired-samples t-test were computed (p < 0.05). Results: HM showed significant the highest WS and SL (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in σf regarding the materials (p > 0.05). BU showed significant the highest Emod (p < 0.05). HM recorded the highest VHN value (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The aesthetic resin composites showed comparable physico-mechanical properties compared to conventional resin composite TNC. The physico-mechanical properties significantly influence the long-term clinical performance of dental restoration.

Aesthetic resin composite; Physico-mechanical properties; Water sorption and solubility; Elastic modulus and flexural strength; Surface hardness

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