Mechanical properties of bulk-fill composite resin with or without a final layer of conventional composite resin

The objective of this in vitro study was to evaluate the mechanical properties of different bulk-fill composite resins with or without a final layer of conventional composite resin. The null hypothesis was that the mechanical properties of the material would not change regardless of the addition of a layer of conventional composite. Bar-shaped specimens (25 × 2 × 2 mm) were made from 4 different bulk-fill composites (Filtek One Bulk Fill, Filtek Bulk Fill Flowable, Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill, and Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill Flow) with or without a final layer of a conventional composite of the same brand (Filtek Supreme for the Filtek materials and Tetric EvoCeram for the Tetric materials). Each specimen was light cured at 2 equidistant points using a multiwave curing light with a power output of 20 J/cm². All of the specimens were subjected to a 3-point bending test in a universal testing machine at a crosshead speed of 0.75 ± 0.25 mm/min and a load rate of 50 ± 16 N/min, and the flexural strength and elastic modulus were calculated. The mean flexural strength and elastic modulus values were analyzed using 1-way analysis of variance, and then the Tukey test was applied for multiple comparisons between groups (α = 0.05). When a final layer of a conventional composite of the same brand was added, the mean flexural strength of the Tetric groups slightly decreased, while that of the Filtek groups did not change. Application of a final layer of conventional composite resulted in a slight increase in the mean elastic modulus of the Filtek groups and either no change or a slight decrease in the Tetric groups. The addition of a final layer of conventional composite resin did not seem to improve the mechanical properties of any of the tested bulk-fill materials. The addition of a final layer of conventional composite resin can affect the mechanical properties of bulk-fill materials; however, it seems these effects are dependent on the type of conventional composite resin used for the final layer.