Mechanical properties of composite resin blocks for CAD/CAM

This study compared commercial composite resin blocks with one ceramic block for use in computer-aided design/computer aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM). Four composite resins, one composite ceramic, and one feldspar-ceramic block were investigated. Flexural strength (FS), flexural modulus (FM), and Vickers hardness (VH) were determined under three conditions: dry storage; immersion in water at 37°C for 7 days; and immersion in water at 37°C for 7 days followed by 10,000 thermocycles. After dry storage, FS ranged from 127 to 242 MPa, FM from 9.6 to 51.5 GPa, and VH from 64 to 455. Two-way ANOVA was performed for FS, FM and VH followed by Tukey's multiple comparison (α<0.05). Results demonstrated that the materials degraded after water immersion and thermocycling, but their properties were within the acceptable range for fabrication of single restorations according to the ISO standard for ceramics (ISO 6872:2008).