IADR Abstract Archives
Advances in low shrinkage composites - New developments in monomers
During the last decades the main crosslinker monomer Bis-GMA has dominated the light curing composit materials. After the discovery of Bis-GMA as the most suitable base monomer for dental composites by Prof. Bowen in the 60's, the material properties were improved by the development of the filler system mainly. Today, dental composites are clinically well approved and can achieve similar durability to other materials.
For a further improvement of the mechanical load capacity and reduction of shrinkage behavior as the main challenge, especially the crosslinker chemistry needs to be optimized. Different options can be used for the chemical modification. Cationic or ring opening polymerisation are reactions to use changes in the molecular structure to balance shrinkage of the curing reaction partially.
Another option is the use of new rigid structures (analogue to Bis-GMA) to prevent shrinkage by an optimized space arrangement of the molecules before and after the crosslinking reaction. With the rigid, aliphatic backbone structure of Tricyclodecane (TCD) a new, advantageous crosslinker molekule was developed by Heraeus Kulzer.