Mechanical Properties of Different Commercially Available Dental Composites

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the mechanical properties of different commercially available dental composites to choose the optimum composite with the highest possible tolerance to occlusal stresses.

 Method: Six composite resins were used, a nano-hybrid (Tetric N-Ceram), hybrid (Tetric N-Ceram Bulk Fill), nano-hybrid (IPS Empress Direct), a nanofill (Filtek Z350 XT), microhybrid (Filtek Z250) and silorane-based resin composite (Filtek P90). Rectangular specimens (n=6) of 20x2x2 mm³were used to measure the flexure strength and modulus using three-point bending test. Cylindrical specimens of 8 mm length and 4 mm diameter, however, were used for measuring the compressive strength. All the mechanical properties were measured using universal testing machine (Instron 5969, USA).

 Results: Significant differences in mechanical properties were observed among different commercially available composite materials (p < 0.001).

^{*Different lower case letters indicates a statistical significance difference within a column}

Conclusion: A significant variation in mechanical properties was observed among the various dental composite formulations investigated in this study. This signifies the need for proper mechanical analysis prior to dental material selection for specific clinical application.