Evaluation of Selected Artificial Aging Protocols for Dental Composites Including Fatigue and Fracture Tests

This research was funded by the National Science Centre, Poland [grant number: UMO-2020/37/N/ST5/00191, 2021].

Datasets was basis for publication entitled: 

Evaluation of Selected Artificial Aging Protocols for Dental Composites Including Fatigue and Fracture Tests, published at Applied  Sciences in 2024. 

The publication is a summary of the second step of the project, that aims standardizing an artificial aging protocol for dental composites. Until now, there has been no effort to create a standard protocol for evaluating the clinical performance of dental composites in a practical and efficient manner. Dental materials are not required to undergo studies that verify their durability over their expected lifespan before they are released to the market. Implementing a standardized aging process is essential to enhance the dental resin composite's ability to withstand oral conditions. Research in this area has been supported by the Preludium grant from the National Science Center in Poland.

Three materials were tested to compare the degradation of resin from that of the filler and resin–filler interface. The first material (Resin F) was unfilled resin. The second and third materials were composites based on a similar resin matrix to Resin F but with differentiated fillers content. On the basis of the obtained data (https://zenodo.org/records/6583563), three protocols were selected for the second part of the project (standardization of artificial aging protocol for dental composites). The influence of three selected aging protocol on the material properties of the samples was determined based on flexural strength (FS), diametral tensile strength (DTS), Vickers hardness (HV) and microstructure evaluation. Additionally, fracture toughness (FT) and flexural fatigue limit (FFL) were determined. The proposed complex aging protocols should simulate prolonged, possibly several to even a dozen or more years of material usage in the oral cavity, thereby furnishing valuable insights into its prospective clinical performance in vitro. 

Authors hope to determine an artificial aging method for evaluating the clinical performance of dental composites. Our publication is first attempt to determine standard aging protocol for dental composites.