Influence of Light-Curing Mode on the Mechanical Properties of Dental Resin Nanocomposites

Dental clinicians need to consider the engineering properties of the dental restorative materials during creating the restoration plan that provide the best therapeutic outcome. In the oral environment, dental materials are exposed to various physicochemical, biological and mechanical challenges. Dental materials have to be sufficiently mechanically resistant to withstand the high occlusal forces that occur in the mouth during chewing. These forces can reach the values of 200 N in the anterior occlusal region, and up to 800 N in the lateral occlusal segments, or even up to 3500 N during some abnormal jaw movements and teeth contacts. Dental resin-based composites are most widely used materials for dental restoration. There has been a lot of research effort to improve organic and inorganic dental composite formulations in order to produce resistant aesthetic material. Different light-curing processing conditions have been proposed, in order to improve degree of monomer conversion, to reduce polymerization shrinkage and stresses, and to improve the mechanical characteristics of the material. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of two different light-curing protocols on the mechanical properties of three types of contemporary dental resin-based composites. Experiments were conducted in the laboratories of the University of Novi Sad. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.