Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the mechanical properties of an experimental self-healing dental composite model (SHDC) composed of SiO
nanoparticles with varying percentages of triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) monomer and
,
-dihydroxyethyl-
-toluidine (DHEPT) amine microcapsules.
Microcapsules were prepared by in-situ polymerisation of PUF shells, as explained in our previous work. The model SHDC included bisphenol A glycidyl dimethacrylate (Bis-GMA:TEGDMA) (1:1), 1 wt% phenyl bis(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl) phosphine oxide (BAPO), 0.5 wt% benzoyl peroxide (BPO) catalyst, 20 wt% silanised silica dioxide (SiO
) (15 nm) and (0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10 wt%) of microcapsules (120 ± 45 μm). Light transmission, hardness, degree of conversion (DC), flexural strength and elastic modulus of the SHDC model were measured.
The degree of conversion of the SHDC ranged from 73 to 76% 24 h after polymerisation. Hardness measurements ranged from 22 to 26 VHN (
> 0.05); however, the flexural strength was adversely affected from 80 to 55 MPa with increasing microcapsules of up to 10 wt% in the composites (
< 0.05).
Only flexural strength decreased drastically ~30% with increasing microcapsules (>10 wt%) in the composites. All other measured properties were not significantly affected. Accordingly, we recommend a stronger composite material that could be created by increasing the filler content distribution in order to achieve a hybrid self-healing composite with enhanced mechanical properties.