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Updated: Jul 22, 2026

A Method for Studying the Temperature Dependence of Dynamic Fracture and Fragmentation
Published on: June 28, 2015
The fracture toughness of various core materials
1Department of Restorative Sciences, Marquette University, School of Dentistry, Milwaukee, WI 53233, USA.
Purpose:
This study determined the fracture toughness of four core buildup materials.
Materials And Methods:
Single-edge notch, bar-shaped specimens conforming to the American Society for Testing Materials standard E-399 were fabricated for a high copper amalgam alloy, two composite resins, and a glass ionomer buildup material. The specimens were stored in air for 1 week and then tested in three-point bending mode with an Instron Universal Testing Machine (Instron Corporation, Canton, MA).
Results:
Fracture toughness values obtained were as follows: Fluorocore (composite resin; Caulk, Milford, DE), 1.54 MN.m-1.5; Ti-Core (composite resin and titanium; Essential Dental Systems, New York, NY), 1.34 MN.m-1.5; Valiant Ph.D. (amalgam; Caulk), 1.29 MN.m-1.5; and Coreshade Glass Ionomer Base Cement (Shofu Inc, Kyota, Japan), 0.55 MN.m-1.5.
Conclusions:
Glass ionomer materials are probably unsuitable as core buildup materials because of their relatively low fracture toughness. Fluorocore, Ti-Core, and amalgam all had fracture toughness values significantly greater than the glass ionomer (P < .01).
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