G It Cons - Supplemento vol. IV - n.

1 Gennaio-Marzo 2006

D38 - Mechanical properties of Resilon and gutta-percha under flexural stresses

IOPPOLO P.1, PLOTINO G.2, GRANDE N.M.2, BEDINI R.1, SOMMA F.2
1 Italian National Institute of Health, Technology and Health Department, Rome; 2Department of Endodontics, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Rome

moplastic polyester, and according to experimental results of this study its elastic modulus is not so different to gutta-percha value, even if statistically difference was found. These results are far from to dentine elastic modulus performance, therefore Resilon will not reinforce roots any better than gutta-percha. This is in accordance to previous reported results on the Resilon and gutta-percha elastic modulus (2). Clinically, Resilons modulus of elasticity is so low that it flows when stressed, instead of resisting stress. Under stress, the polymer chains slide over each other and allow the material to flow (4). This properly permits it to adapt to the irregularities of root canals just like gutta-percha. As the root is stressed, even if the self-etching adhesive remains bonded to dentin, the very low modulus of elasticity of Resilon will be unable to resist the stress and the material will strain or elongate (4).

Introduction. A recent paper has shown that canals filled with Resilon increased the in vitro resistance to fracture of endodontically treated single-canal extracted teeth when compared to standard techniques using gutta-percha (1). Nevertheless, it has been shown that Tone, the parent polymer of Resilon, is an elastomeric material and its cohesive strength is too low to reinforce the roots of endodontically-treated teeth (2). Aim of the present study was to evaluate the Resilon material mechanical properties, comparing to gutta-percha, under flexural stresses. Materials and methods. 20 Resilon pellets (Real Seal, Sybron Endo, Orange, USA) and 20 gutta-percha pellets for use with the Obtura gun were used in this study (Fig. 1). The random selected specimens were taken off from a commercially avaiable box and subjected to failure load with a three-point bending test by means of an electronic dynamometer (Lloyd Instruments Ltd, UK) equipped with a 500 N load cell (Fig. 2). This mechanical test was performed (according to the ISO 10477 standard) with 2 mm cross-sectional diameter of loading tip and 10.0 mm grip span-length, at 1.0 mm/min crosshead speed. Specimen flexural modulus and flexural strength values have been obtained after the test. The load-deflection curves were obtained by means of a dedicated PCsoftware (Nexygen Mt v4.5, Fig. 1. Resilon (right) and gutta-percha (left) pelLloyd Instruments Ltd, UK). let used in this study. The obtained values were processed by means of the ttest with a significance level of P < 0.05. Results. There was significant statistically difference (P<0.05) between the flexural modulus values obtained with gutta-percha (285.636.6 Mpa) and Resilon (200.717.9 Mpa) pellet specimens. There was statistically significant difference (P < 0.05) between the flexural strength values of Resilon (29.31.6 Mpa) and gutta-percha (20.51.0 Mpa) pellet specimens. Conclusions. Endodontic filling materials to strengthen roots have to approach dentine elastic modulus, ranging from 16 to 18 GPa (3). The polymer matrix of Resilon is made up of polyFig. 2. Three-point bending test system grip used caprolactone, that is a therduring mechanical test.

References
1. Teixeira FB, Teixeira ECN, Thompson JY, Trope M. Fracture resistance of roots endodontically treated with a new resin filling material. J Am Dent Assoc 2004; 135:646-652. Pashley DH. Adhesive Dentistry: Are There Endodontic Applications?. www.rxroots.com. Kinney JH, Marshall SJ, Marshall GW. The mechanical properties of human dentin: a critical review and re-evaluation of the dental literature. Crit Rev Oral Biol Med 2003; 14:13-29. Pashley DH. Endodontic Applications of Adhesive Dentistry. www.rxroots.com.

2. 3.

4.

Copyright 2006, CIC Edizioni Internazionali, Roma.

85