Dental fiber-reinforced composite analysis using optical coherence tomography

An optical coherence tomography (OCT) system with 6 μm spatial resolution was employed to image the sites of fracture initiation and slow crack propagation in a fiber reinforced composite. Bar specimens (2 mm × 3 mm × 25 mm) of fiber reinforced composite were mechanically and thermally cycled to emulate oral conditions. The interior of the samples were analyzed prior and after the emulations. We analyzed the specimens that were intact after the loading cycling. The results demonstrated the capacity of the OCT technique to generate images of the sites fracture initiation, crack propagation, and regions surrounding the fracture, and it can be used in the future for quantitative analysis thus complementing other existing methods, with the main advantage of being non-destructive and non-invasive.