Influence of Tg, viscosity and chemical structure of monomers on shrinkage stress in light-cured dimethacrylate-based dental resins

Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the molecular mobility and the chemical structure of dimethacrylates most commonly used in dental composites on shrinkage stress from experimental matrices. Methods Three established neat monomers BisGMA (B), UEDMA (U) and TEGDMA (T), two experimental comonomers BisGMA-based (B-T70/30 and B-T50/50) and two comonomers UEDMA-based (U-T88/11 and U-T66/33) in weight%, were elaborated. Camphorquinone (CQ) and N,N-cyanoethylmethylaniline (CEMA), as photoinitiator and reducing agent, were added. Then the matrices were mixed by centrifugal force at room temperature. The viscosity (η), the glass transition temperature of the monomers and comonomers systems (Tg(monomer)) and the maximum shrinkage stress (MSS) of each material (five replications) were statistically analysed by one-way ANOVA/Tuckeyʹs test and Pearsonʹs correlation procedure (p = 0.05). Results All formulations exhibited a newtonian rheological behavior. The viscosity of the comonomers systems can be divided in two groups: the pair B-T70/30/U-T88/11 with the viscosity 3.5 ± 3.10−3 Pa·s and the pair B-T50/50/U-T66/33 with the viscosity 0.28 ± 3.10−3 Pa·s. This pairs constituted samples allowing to compare the shrinkage stress of the BisGMA and UEDMA-based matrices with each other. The Tg(monomer) of each group showed equivalent statistically values: −37.1 ± 0.02 °C (U-T88/11) with −39.3 ± 0.02 °C (B-T70/30) for the 3.5 Pa·s pair, and −53.1 ± 0.03 °C (U-T66/33) with −58.5 ± 0.01 °C (B-T50/50) for the 0.28 Pa·s one. There was a correlation between η and Tg(monomer) (r < 0.45 and p < 0.01). In decreasing order, the shrinkage stress was 14.11 ± 0.3 MPa (T), 10.64 ± 0.6 MPa (U-T66/33), 8.16 ± 0.25 MPa (B-T50/50) without a significant difference compared to 8.04 ± 0.5 MPa (U-T88/11), 6.83 ± 0.52 MPa (U), 4.44 ± 0.25 MPa (B-T70/30) and 0.33 ± 0.3 MPa (B). There was a negative correlation between η (r < −0.42 and p < 0.01), Tg(monomer) (r < −0.41 and p < 0.01) and MSS. Whatever the viscosity, the UEDMA-based matrices developed higher shrinkage stresses than the BisGMA homologues. Significance The shrinkage stress development increase with the molecular mobility of the reacting medium. For the same molecular mobility, the large differences in stress values of the matrices studied are correlated to the structure and particularly the functionality of the monomers used.