Effect of the thicknesses of bulk-fill composites on bonding strength

This work evaluated the effects of thickness on resin bonding strength.

We set the two bulk-fill composites Filtek Bulk Fill Posterior (FBF) and Tetric N-Ceram Bulk Fill (TBF) as the experimental groups and the two conventional composites Filtek Z100 (Z100) and Spectrum TPH (ST) as the control groups. The translucency parameter (TP), color difference, Vickers hardness (HV), and microtensile bond strength (μTBS) of dentine and the resin composites were measured at different depths.

In each group, TP and HV decreased with the increase in thickness. At the same depth, the TP of the bulk-fill composites was higher than that of the conventional composites. At the same depth, the HV of the four different resin composites followed the order of Z100>FBF>TBF>ST (except for the upper surface). Except for FBF at 3 and 4 mm, all of the other groups showed no visible color change at all the tested thicknesses. Although the μTBS values of the four different composites obtained through the bulk-fill technique were lower than those of composites obtained through the incremental fill technique, the μTBS of the bulk-fill composites obtained through the bulk-filling technique can reach 30 MPa.

Bulk-fill composites applied in single 4 mm increments can meet the requirements of clinical application. However, the color stability of some bulk-fill composites cannot be maintained.