Abstract
The aim of this study is to characterize (wettability, surface roughness and gloss) and test (microhardness and diametral compression) four types of light-cured composite resins, one of which is commercial. The first lab-made composite is the reference, obtained by mechanical mixing of three monomers, in equal concentrations. The following two lab-made materials can be considered nanocomposites because they were mechanically mixed in the base solution (Bis-GMA/TEGDMA/Bis-EMA) with α-Al2O3 nanopowders, with a concentration of 5 wt.% for one solution and 10 wt.% for the other. The benchmark material comparison for these lab-made composite and nanocomposite resins is the bioresin system, Filtek™ Supreme Ultra Universal Restorative. Results were promising, especially for the 10 wt.% Al2O3/Bis-GMA/TEGDMA/Bis-EMA system, characterized by mechanical improvment in comparison with the reference composite.
Keywords: bis-GMA/TEGDMA/Bis-EMA resin composite; Al2O3 nanoparticles; mechanical testing