Remineralizing amorphous calcium phosphate based composite resins: the influence of inert fillers on monomer conversion, polymerization shrinkage, and microhardness

AIM To determine if the addition of inert fillers to a bioactive dental restorative composite material affects its degree of conversion (DC), polymerization shrinkage (PS), and microhardness (HV). METHODS Three amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP)-based composite resins: without added fillers (0-ACP), with 10% of barium-glass fillers (Ba-ACP), and with 10% of silica fillers (Si-ACP), as well as commercial control (Ceram•X, Dentsply DeTrey) were tested in laboratory conditions. The amount of ACP (40%) and the composition of the resin mixture (based on ethoxylated bisphenol A dimethacrylate) was the same for all ACP materials. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to determine the DC (n=40), 20 min and 72 h after polymerization. Linear PS and Vickers microhardness (n=40) were also evaluated. The results were analyzed by paired samples t test, ANOVA, and one-way repeated measures ANOVA with Student-Newman-Keuls or Tukey's post-hoc test (P=0.05). RESULTS The addition of barium fillers significantly increased the DC (20 min) (75.84±0.62%) in comparison to 0-ACP (73.92±3.08%), but the addition of silica fillers lowered the DC (71.00±0.57%). Ceram•X had the lowest DC (54.93±1.00%) and linear PS (1.01±0.24%) but the highest HV (20.73±2.09). PS was significantly reduced (P<0.010) in both Ba-ACP (1.13±0.25%) and Si-ACP (1.17±0.19%) compared to 0-ACP (1.43±0.21%). HV was significantly higher in Si-ACP (12.82±1.30) than in 0-ACP (10.54±0.86) and Ba-ACP (10.75±0.62) (P<0.010). CONCLUSION Incorporation of inert fillers to bioactive remineralizing composites enhanced their physical-mechanical performance in laboratory conditions. Both added fillers reduced the PS while maintaining high levels of the DC. Silica fillers additionally moderately improved the HV of ACP composites.