Pre-heating effects on extrusion force, stickiness and packability of resin-based composite

To measure temperature effects on stickiness and packability of representative resin-based composites and the effect of pre-heating time on pre-cure properties of Viscalor, including extrusion force. Five resin-based composites (RBC) and an additional RBC, Viscalor, used with a Caps Warmer (VOCO, Germany) were studied. The extrusion force (N) and extruded mass (g) were measured from Viscalor compules heated in T3 mode for 30s (T3-30s) and 3min (T3-3min). For stickiness and packability measurements, RBCs were packed into a brass cylindrical cavity controlled at 22 and 37°C. A flat-ended probe was lowered into the RBC pastes at constant speed. Stickiness: Fmax (N) and Ws (N mm), and packability: Fp (N), were measured. Viscalor was LED photo-cured at 1200mW/cm2 for 40s. The degrees of conversion at 5min and 24h post cure (DC5min and DC24h) of Viscalor (no heat, T3-30s and T3-3min) were measured by ATR-FTIR. Data were analysed by one-way ANOVA, independent t-test and Tukey post-hoc tests (p