Comparison of the Digital Light Processing of Flowable Resin Composites With the Milling of Ceramic Block

Objectives: No published data is available on digital light processing (DLP) of flowable resin composites. The aim of this study was to evaluate the formativeness of the current low viscosity flowable resin composites in DLP and to compare them with CAD/CAM manufactured specimen.
Methods: Using inLab software (version 4.02) tapered blocks (n=5) measuring 6 x 6 x 4 mm were designed and milled from CELTRA (dentsply), shade A2, size C12 blocks with a CEREC 3D milling unit (Sirona). The identical tapered blocks (n=5, each) were digital-light-processed from Gaenial Flo A2 (GC) and ESTELITE® FLOW QUICK High Flow (Tokuyama) with MiiCraft printing unit (Rays Optics). The dimensional stability was measured and the surfaces were qualitatively evaluated with SEM images at 200X magnification. The results were analyzed with repeated measures ANOVA (p<0.05).
Results: In dimensional stability, no significant correlation between the block and flowable resins and no significant correlation between DLP and CAD/CAM were found. A smoother surface was achieved on the ceramic blocks, with a delicate layered surface obtained on the resin prints.
Conclusions: No statistically significant difference in dimension was demonstrated between the methods and materials. Further study using universal testing machine is needed for better evaluation of the potential differences of mechanical strength.