Investigation of the Effects of Adhesive Materials of Different Types and Thicknesses on Dental Tissue Stress via FEM Analysis

The aim of this study was to investigate the types and thicknesses of adhesive materials used in restorative treatment in dentistry in class I occlusal and class II disto-occlusal cavities and to examine the effects of stress distribution on enamel, dentin, restoration material, and adhesive material using the finite element stress analysis method. A 3-dimensional geometry of the tooth was obtained by scanning the extracted 26 numbered upper molar tooth with dental tomography. The 3D geometry obtained by using the Geomagic Design X 2020.0 software was divided into surfaces, and necessary arrangements were made. With the Solidworks 2013 software, 2 different cavity modeling, class I occlusal and class II disto-occlusal, with a cavity angle of 95 degrees on the 3D model, as well as 10, 30, and 50 micrometers thick, four types of adhesive materials and the modeling of the bulk-fill composite material on it were made. With finite element stress analysis, the stress distribution was analyzed using the Abaqus software. The materials used in the study are included in the simulation as isotropic linear elastic. Periodontal ligament and jawbone were not included in the analysis. A total of 600 N pressure was applied on the models. In our study, it was observed that the amount of stress on the tooth structures changed when the thickness, elastic modulus, and Poisson ratios of the adhesive material were changed. In addition, when all models are examined, it is seen that when the thickness is increased, more stress is placed on the adhesive material compared to the restoration, while when 50-micrometer-thick adhesive material is used, more stress is placed on the restoration compared to the adhesive material.