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Dentin Bonding Testing Using a Mini-interfacial Fracture Toughness Approach
P Pongprueksa1, J De Munck2, K Karunratanakul3
1BIOMAT, Department of Oral Health Sciences, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), and Dentistry, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium Department of Operative Dentistry and Endodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
A new simplified, miniaturized interfacial fracture toughness (mini-iFT) test effectively assesses dental adhesive bonding. This mini-iFT method is a valid and more discriminative alternative to microtensile bond strength (µTBS) testing.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Dental Materials Science
- Adhesion Science
Background:
- Interfacial fracture toughness (iFT) is a superior metric for bonding effectiveness compared to traditional bond strength tests.
- Existing iFT methods are often laborious and require large specimens, limiting their widespread application.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate a novel, simplified, and miniaturized interfacial fracture toughness (mini-iFT) test for assessing dental adhesive performance.
- To compare the mini-iFT test with the established microtensile bond strength (µTBS) test.
Main Methods:
- Mini-iFT and µTBS specimens were prepared from the same teeth using four dentin adhesives and one glass ionomer cement.
- Mini-iFT specimens were subjected to a four-point bending test after notching the adhesive-dentin interface.
- Finite element analysis (FEA) was employed to analyze stress distribution during mini-iFT testing.
Main Results:
- A significant positive correlation (r² = 0.94) was found between mini-iFT and µTBS values.
- Weibull analysis indicated lower variability for mini-iFT compared to µTBS.
- Both tests showed a similar material performance ranking, with mini-iFT revealing failure predominantly at the interface, unlike µTBS.
Conclusions:
- The new mini-iFT test is a more discriminative and valid method for assessing dental adhesive bonding effectiveness.
- The mini-iFT test offers a valid alternative to the µTBS test, with comparable specimen size and workload.
- FEA confirmed stress concentration at the interface during mini-iFT loading, correlating with observed failure modes.
