In this study, the surface hardness of five light-cured composite resins were evaluated, namely: filled (Estelite), nanofil (Ælite), unfilled (Valux Plus), hybrid (Tetric ceram), and Ormocer-based (Admira) composite resins. The microhardness values of composite specimens were measured at the top and bottom surfaces after 24 hours or 30 days of immersion in different solutions (tea, coffee, Turkish coffee, mouthwash, cola, and distilled water). Comparisons were made with univariate analysis of variance and Duncan's multiple range test. It was found that rough specimens of reinforced nano-hybrid composite material immersed in cola for 30 days had the lowest surface hardness (33.20), whereas rough specimens of hybrid composite material immersed in cola for 24 hours had the highest surface hardness (156.00). In both tea and coffee, the top surfaces tended to be harder than the bottom ones. In conclusion, the five different materials exhibited different hardnesses, and that the hardness values of composite materials were statistically different in different immersion solutions.

The aim of this study was to determine the solubility of dental cements in artificial saliva of different pH values. A total of 180 specimens—20 specimens (20 mm diameter×1.5 mm thickness) for each dental cement—were prepared. After the specimens were weighed, they were set in the media with different pH values. After 24 hours, 72 hours, seven days, and 28 days, the specimens were taken out, dried in a desiccator, and re-weighed. Percentage of solubility at each time period was calculated as 100 per cent times weight loss divided by the initial weight of the specimen. Analysis of variance and LSD multiple comparison test were applied. It was found that cement type, storage time, and medium pH exerted statistically significant (p<0.001) effects on solubility. Among the tested cement types, zinc phosphate cement (Adhesor Carbofine) presented the highest solubility. In terms of medium pH, the cements seemed to be most stable in the medium with pH 7.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of surface and heat treatments on the mechanical properties and phase transformation of yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia (Y-TZP) materials. Background data: Zirconia is exposed to several treatments during dental application process. Knowing the effect of applied treatments on zirconia is essential for clinical success. Material and methods: Forty disk specimens of Zirkonzahn (Z) and DC-Zirkon (DC) materials were fabricated. The specimens were randomly divided into four groups according to surface [control, sandblasting, Erbium: Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (Er:YAG) laser irradiation] and heat (firing) treatments. The surface roughness (Ra, μm) was measured using a surface profilometer. The relative amount of the transformed monoclinic (m) phase was analyzed by X-ray diffractometry (XRD). Biaxial flexural strength was tested using piston-on-three-ball technique. The data were analyzed with the Kruskal–Wallis H test with Bonferroni correction, and the Mann–Whitney U test was used for pairwise comparisons. Results: There were no significant differences in surface roughness among the treated groups ( p > 0.05), whereas sandblasting showed higher surface roughness than other treatments for both materials. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analyses revealed changes in surface morphology after surface treatments, especially in laser groups with the formation of cracks, and in sandblasting groups with the formation of microretentive grooves. The greatest amount of the monoclinic phase was measured after sandblasting (8.13%) for Z and (19.8%) for DC. The monoclinic phase reverted to the tetragonal phase after heat treatment. Heat treatment groups showed significantly lower flexural strength than other treatments ( p < 0.05). Conclusions: Heat and surface treatments influenced the mechanical properties of zirconia ceramic. The biaxial flexural strength and crystalline phase of materials decreased after heat treatments.