Effect of Preheating and Precooling on the Flexural Strength and Modulus of Elasticity of Nanohybrid and Silorane-based Composite

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: Composite resin may be used in different temperatures; it is crucial to determine the effect of temperature on mechanical properties of nanohybrid and silorane-based composite. PURPOSE: This in vitro study compared the flexural strength and modulus of elasticity of nanohybrid and silorane-based resin composite, at 4˚C, room temperature (25˚C), and 45˚C. MATERIALS AND METHOD: In this experimental study, 60 specimens were prepared in a metal split mold (2×2×25mm). Two different resin composites, Filtek Z250 XT (3M/ ESPE) and Filtek P90 (3M/ESPE), were evaluated. The material were inserted into split molds at room temperature, 4˚C or 45˚C and cured with LED (1200 mW/cm(2)) for 20 seconds in four points (n=10). Then, a three-point bending test was performed using a universal testing machine at a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min for measuring the flexural strength and flexural modulus of samples. The data were analyzed by the two-way ANOVA and Tukey test (p< 0.05). RESULTS: The mean highest flexural strength was observed at 45˚C, showing statistically significant difference with flexural strength at 4˚C (p= 0.0001) and 25˚C (p= 0.003) regardless of the type of resin composite. The flexural modulus at 45˚C was highest, showing the statistically significant difference with flexural modulus at 4˚C (p= 0.0001) and 25˚C (p= 0.002). The flexural modulus was statistically different between nanohybrid and silorane-based resin composite (p= 0.01) in 25˚C and 45˚C, but there were no statistically significant differences between flexural strength of Filtek Z250 XT and Filtek P90 regardless of the temperatures (p= 0.062). CONCLUSION: Preheating the resin composite at 45˚C improves flexural strength and modulus of nanohybrid and silorane-based resin composite. However, flexural strength and modulus of the tested materials were not affected by precooling. The flexural modulus of nanohybrid resin composite was significantly higher than silorane-based resin composite in 25˚C and 45˚C temperatures.