Resin based

composites
Dental Composite
Highly cross-linked polymeric materials reinforced by a
dispersion of glass, crystalline or resin filler particles
and/or short fibres bound to the matrix by silane
coupling agents
( Dr. Ray L.Bowen 1962)
 structure
 matrix
 filler
 coupling agents

use
 Restore and replace dental tissue
 Lute and cement indirectly made dental devices
 Made in different consistencies (highly fluid to rigid pastes)
Matrix
Bis-GMA (monomer) UDMA (urethane dimethacrylate)

highly cross-linked, strong, rigid and durable

polymer structure
 Bis-GMA resin is the base for composite.
In the late 1950´s, Bowen mixed:
Bisphenol A and glycidylmethacrylate thinned with
TEGDMA ( triethylene glycol dimethactylate) to form
the first BIS-GMA resin.
 Diluents are added to increase flow and handling
characteristics or provide cross linking for improved
strength.
 Matrix
Bis-GMA
UDMA Highly viscous (difficult to blend
(high molecular weight) and manipulate)

(lower-molecular-weight highly fluid monomer)

TEGDMA Resin Paste (sufficiently
(triethylene glycol dimethactylate) fluid for clinical manipulation)
Fillers
The inorganic and/or organic resin particles that are designed
to strengthen and reinforce composites as well as to reduce
curing shrinkage and thermal expansion:
 Soft glass  Ytterbium fluoride
 Borosilicate (hard glass)  Barium (Ba)
 Fused quartz  Strontium (Sr)
 Aluminium silicate  Zirconium (ZR)
 Lithium aluminium silicate  Zinc glasses

RADIOPACITY
Function of Fillers
Fillers can provide the following benefits:
 Reinforcement. Increases clinical performance and
durability.
 Reduction of polymerization shrinkage/contraction.
Reduces curing shrinkage
 Reduction in thermal expansion and contraction.
Decreases the overall coefficient of thermal expansion
 Control of workability/viscosity. The more filler, the thicker
is the paste.
 Filler Decreased water sorption. Absorbed water softens
the resin and makes it more prone to abrasive wear and
staining.
 Imparting radiopacity. Resins are inherently radiolucent.
For optimal diagnostic contrast, the restoration should have a
radiopacity approximately equal to that of enamel.
Radiopacity is most often imparted by adding certain glass
filler particles containing heavy metal atoms, which strongly
absorb x-rays.
 Classifications of Filled Resins
Two general classifications are used to categorize resin-based
composites
1. Based on the size and combination of sizes of the
reinforcing filler particles
2. Based on the manipulation characteristics of the filled
monomer paste.
Classification by Filler Particle Size
 Classification by Filler Particle Size

Macrofilled.
• Developed in the 1970`s
• Crystalline quartz (large 10 to 100)
• Difficult to polish (large particles prone to pluck)
• Poor wear resistance
• Fracture resistant
Small (Fine) Particle Composites
• Particle diameters between 0.1 and 10 µm (minifiller and
midifiller).
• Excellent polishability
• Excellent appearance
• Good durability

Make this category suitable for general anterior

use.
Microfilled.
• Better aesthetics an polish ability
• Tiny particles
0.04 micron colloidal silica
Increases viscosity
• To increase filler loading
Filler added to resin
Heated cured
Ground to large particles
Remixed with more resin and filler
 Agglomerates
of colloidal silica
particles
Microfilled.
• Lower filler content
Inferior properties
- increased fracture potential
- lacks coupling agent
- lacks radiopacity
• Linear clinical wear pattern
• Suitable for class III and V
Hybrid Composites.
• Formulated with mixed filler systems containing both microfine
and fine (0.6 to 1 µm)
• They are widely used for anterior restorations, including class IV.
• Improved handling
• Reduce stickiness
• Strong
• Good polish ability
 Nanofilled
Composites/Nanocomposites/Nanohybrid
Composites:
More recently, nanoparticles (1 to 100 nm), exist as loosely bound
“clusters”, consisting of a blend of two or more size ranges of filler
particles.

Clusters are
loose
agglomerates
 Classification of Composites by
Manipulation Characteristics
 Flowable Composites
Modification of a small-particle composite and a hybrid composite.
Lower viscosity (reduced filler loading)
Inferior in mechanical properties
Higher susceptibility to wear
Spreads uniformly

USE
 As cavity base or liner, class II posterior preparations
 Class I restorations in gingival areas
 Fissure sealants (minimal class I)
 Condensable (Packable) Composites.
Stiff yet mouldable composite.
Inclusion of elongated, fibrous filler particles.
Rough surfaces and blends of fibrous and particulate fillers produce a
packable consistency and enable other properties to be optimized for
clinical performance.

USE
Class II restoration (helps achieve a better contact point because of the
condensation technique)
Use of “pluggers”
 Coupling Agents
 Binds the filler particles to the resin matrix and allows the
more flexible resin matrix to transfer stresses to the stiffer
particles.
 Organic silanes like gamma-methacryloxy propyl trimethoxy
silane is commonly used as coupling agent in composite
resins.
 Improves the physical and mechanical properties of the
composite resin and provides hydrolytic stability along the
resin/filler interface.
 All modern composite resins are based on silica containing
fillers.
 Reinforcing silica-based
FILLER PARTICLE

 COUPLING  RESIN MATRIX

AGENT:
(Interfacial film
of silane)
Activator-Initiator System
Composite resins polymerize by a addition polymerization
mechanism that is brought about by the release of free
radicals:
The free radicals are released by:

1. CHEMICAL ACTIVATION (SELF CURED)

2. LIGHT ACTIVATION
3. DUAL CURE
 Activator-Initiator System

TYPE OF COMPOSITE ACTIVATOR INITIATOR

CHEMICALLY CURED N.N. DI METHYL P. TOLUIDINE BENZOYL PEROXIDE

 Activator-Initiator System
TYPE OF COMPOSITE ACTIVATOR INITIATOR
(LIGHT SOURCE) (PHOTOSENSITIZER)
LIGHT CURED
UV LIGHT

VISIBLE BLUE LIGHT DIMETHYL AMINOETHYL CAMPHORQUINONE

METHACRYLATE
 Activator-Initiator System
DUAL CURED
Two Paste System
Benzoyl Peroxide aromatic tertiary amine accelerator

The cure is Accelerated via light-curing (amine/CQ combination)

 Oxygen inhibited layer
 During the initial stage of a polymerization process,
polymerization is inhibited by oxygen because the reactivity
of oxygen to a radical is much higher than that of a monomer.
This reaction forms an unpolymerized surface layer.
 Polymerization using a smooth matrix strip minimizes
porosities as well as the oxygen-inhibited layer.
Inhibitors
 Added to prevent spontaneous polymerization of the
monomers by inhibiting the free radical.
 The inhibitor reacts with the free radical faster than the free
radical can react with the monomer.
 Inhibitors extend the resin’s storage life and to ensure
sufficient working time.
 Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) is used in light cure
composites.
 Hydroxyquinone is used in self cure.
Optical Modifiers
 Shading is achieved by adding various pigments, usually
consisting of minute amounts of metal oxide particles.
 To increase the opacity, the manufacturer adds titanium
dioxide and aluminum oxide to composites in minute
amounts.
Properties of Resin-Based
Composites

Degree of Conversion (DC)

 The DC is a measure of the percentage of carbon-carbon
double bonds that have been converted to single bonds
during the curing reaction.
 DC is high = better strength
= wear resistance
Matrix Constraint

 The presence of filler particles bonded to the matrix via coupling

agents reduces thermal expansion and contraction of the
composite.
 During expansion, the composite can fracture within the matrix
because of the added tension caused by the nonexpansion of the
filler particle.

Toughness
 The strength of composites depends on the ability of the
coupling agent to transfer stresses from the weak matrix to the
strong filler particles.
Curing Shrinkage and Shrinkage Stress
 This arises as the monomer is converted to polymer and the free space
it occupies reduces.
 Produces unrelieved stresses in the resin after it reaches the “gelation”
point and begins to harden.

They can be affected by:

 Total volume of the composite material
 Type of composite
 Polymerization speed
 Ratio of bonded/nonbonded surfaces or configuration of the tooth
preparation (C-factor)
Curing Shrinkage and Shrinkage Stress
Reduction of Shrinkage Stresses
Incremental Buildup
Control of Curing Rate

C-FACTOR
Using “oblique
incremental layering
technique”
Control of Curing Rate
 Soft-Start Technique: curing
begins at low light intensity and
finishes with high intensity.
 Wear (Volume Loss by Abrasion
and Other Mechanisms)
 Loss of material caused by direct wear in areas of
tooth-to-tooth contact are grater than that of food in
noncontact areas.
 Composite in which the filler particles are small, high
in concentration and well bonded to matrix are most
resistant to wear.
 Large restorations wear more than do smaller ones.
 Restorations in molars wear more than premolars.
 Variations among patients (chewing habits, force
levels, oral environments).
 Indirect posterior composites onlays and inlays reduce wear and
leakage and overcome some of the limitations of resin
composites.