Effect of power density on shrinkage of dental resin materials

This study compares volumetric changes and rates of shrinkage during different stages of polymerization of dental resin composites and compomers exposed to the same total energy by using two different combinations of power density and exposure duration. A hybrid composite and its equivalent flowable and a compomer and its equivalent flowable were exposed using a halogen curing unit set at 400 mW/cm2 for 40 seconds and 800 mW/cm2 for 20 seconds: delivering 16 J/cm2 in both cases. Volumetric changes were recorded every 0.5 seconds using a mercury dilatometer. Ten replications per test condition were performed and the data were subjected to ANOVA. Statistically significant differences in shrinkage values and rates among different power densities were determined by means of paired t-tests at a 95% confidence level. Significantly more shrinkage (p<0.05) was found for the higher filled materials, Z250 and Dyract AP, when higher power density was used. However, no significant differences were found between their flowable counterparts when exposed to various power densities. Of the four materials, only Dyract AP exhibited no significant difference in shrinkage rate when various power densities were used. All the other materials exhibited significantly higher rates (p<0.05) at the higher power density.