Surface modified characteristics of the tetracalcium phosphate as light-cured composite resin fillers

Abstract

The objectives of this study are to characterize the properties of light-cured composite resins that are reinforced with whisker surface-modified particles of tetracalcium phosphate (TTCP) and to investigate the influence of thermal cycling on the reinforced composites properties. The characteristics of ultimate diametral tensile strength (DTS), moduli, pH values, and fracture surfaces of the samples with different amounts of surface-modified TTCP (30%-60%) were determined before and after thermal cycling between 5°C and 55°C in deionized water for 600 cycles. The trends of all groups were ductile prior to thermal cycling and the moduli of all groups increased after thermal cycling. The ductile property of the control group without filler was not significantly affected. Larger amounts of fillers caused the particles to aggregate, subsequently decreasing the resin's ability to disperse external forces and leading to brittleness after thermal cycling. Therefore, the trend of composite resins with larger amounts of filler would become more brittle and exhibited higher moduli after thermal cycling. This developed composite resin with surface modified-TTCP fillers has the potential to be successful dental restorative materials. © 2014 Wen-Cheng Chen et al.