Color stainability, microhardness, sorption, and solubility of 3D printed interim crowns

Area of Science:

• Dental Materials Science
• Biomaterials Engineering
• Restorative Dentistry

Background:

• Digitally assisted dentistry drives innovation in 3D printing materials for interim restorations.
• Evaluating the performance of novel 3D printed resins is crucial for clinical adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the mechanical properties of 3D printed interim resin materials for crowns against conventionally polymerized interim restorations.
• Assess key properties including sorption, solubility, microhardness, and color stability.

Main Methods:

• Fabricated 120 disk-shaped specimens from 3D printed resin (P), autopolymerizing acrylic resin (AU), and bis-acryl resin (B).
• Conducted tests for sorption, solubility, Vickers microhardness, and color stainability over 21 days using coffee and red wine.
• Analyzed data using ANOVA and Tukey's multiple comparison tests (α=.05).

Main Results:

• Vickers microhardness and solubility showed no significant differences among the three resin types.
• Sorption and diffusion coefficients varied significantly across materials (P<.001).
• 3D printed resins (P) demonstrated greater color changes (ΔE) in red wine and coffee compared to AU and B resins, particularly over time.

Conclusions:

• All tested interim restorative resins achieved comparable microhardness and solubility.
• 3D printed resins exhibit higher sorption and diffusion coefficients, leading to increased susceptibility to staining from coffee and red wine.
• Conventional resins (AU and B) demonstrated superior color stability under staining conditions compared to 3D printed resins.