Hydration and dynamic fatigue of dentin.

An experimental investigation on the dynamic fatigue response of dentin was conducted to examine the influence of stress rate on the strength and energy to fracture. Rectangular beams were prepared from the coronal dentin of bovine maxillary molars and subjected to four-point flexure to failure. The dentin beams were examined in the fully hydrated and dehydrated condition at stress rates (sigma) ranging from 0.01 to 100 MPa/s. Results for the hydrated dentin showed that the flexure strength, energy to fracture, and flexure modulus all increased with increasing stress rate; the flexure strength increased from 100 MPa ((sigma) = 0.01 MPa/s) to 250 MPa ((sigma) = 100 MPa/s). In contrast, the elastic modulus and strength of the dehydrated dentin decreased with increasing stress rate; the flexural strength of the dehydrated dentin deceased from 170 MPa ((sigma) = 0.01 MPa/s) to 100 MPa ((sigma) = 100 MPa/s). While the hydrated dentin behaved more like a brittle material at low stress rates, the strain to fracture was found to be nearly independent of (sigma). According to the experimental results, restorative conditions that cause development of static stresses within the tooth could promote a decrease in the damage tolerance of dentin.