Dynamic and static mechanical analysis of resin luting cements

Various types of indirect restorations are available for dental treatment and resin cements are commonly used as a luting medium. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mechanical properties of contemporary resin luting agents under different testing conditions and temperatures. The materials tested were Choice 2 (CH), Clearfil Esthetic Cement (EC), Resicem (RC) and RelyX Unicem (RX). Each material was examined after 24 h of storage at 21 °C dry and wet at 21, 37 and 50 °C under dynamic and static testing and parameters such as shear and flexural modulus, loss tangent, dynamic viscosity and Poisson’s ratio were calculated. The resin cements were also subjected to creep testing under different constant loads for 3 h and a recovery time of 50 h. The material with the highest modulus was CH, while RX had the lowest. All resin cements were affected by the presence of water with RX being the least affected and by the increase of temperature, with RC being the least susceptible. None of the materials exhibited full recovery after creep testing and permanent deformation ranged from 0.43% to 5.53%. The resin cements tested in this study showed no major transitions under the different testing conditions. Their behavior was satisfactory for restorations that do not require increased mechanical properties. However, in the case of stress-bearing restorations the conditions in the oral cavity may affect the performance of these materials.

► Resin cements are affected by the presence of water and the increase of temperature.
► Filler content is strongly correlated to the properties of resin cements when other contributing factors are absent.
► All the materials did not fully recover after creep loading even at low stresses.
► Precautions should be made so the cements are not in contact with oral fluids.