Physical properties of different composites

The purpose of this study was to determine the flexural strength (FS), flexural modulus (FM), depth of cure (DC), polymerization shrinkage (PS), and microhardness (VH) of the following composites: Two packable composites - Filtek P-60 and Solitaire 2; One ion-releasing composite - Ariston AT; and Two hybrid composites - Charisma and Filtek Z-250. Data of the different tests conducted were obtained as follows: FS and FM data were determined with a universal-testing machine; Polymerization shrinkage was determined using the apparatus of Watts and Cash; Depth of cure was measured with a micrometer (Mitotuyo, UK); and Microhardness was measured with a Shimadzu Microhardness tester (500 g, 15 seconds). All data of the different tests were statistically analyzed by one-way variance analysis (ANOVA), which yielded the following results: Filtek Z-250 showed the statistically highest flexural strength and modulus values. Solitaire 2 exhibited the highest shrinkage, while the volumetric shrinkage results of Filtek Z-250 and Filtek P-60 ranked the lowest. For depth of cure, there were no statistically significant differences among all materials tested (p<0.05). Microhardness results revealed the following tendency: Filtek Z-250=Filtek P-60 > Ariston AT=Solitaire 2=Charisma.