Flexural Properties of Three Novel 3D-Printed Dental Resins Compared to Other Resin-Based Restorative Materials

Abstract

To evaluate the flexural strength and flexural modulus of three recently introduced 3D-Printed resins and compare them with the flexural properties of other well known, already commercialized, and extensively used resin based dental materials. Three 3D-printed dental resins, a fiber-reinforced epoxy resin, a heat-cured bis-acrylate-based composite resin, two conventional CAD/CAM PMMA, and a graphene-reinforced CAD/CAM PMMA, were selected for this study. Ten prismatic-shaped specimens (2 × 2 × 25 mm) were fabricated for each material (n = 10). All specimens underwent a three-point bending test using a universal testing machine and were loaded until fracture. Flexural strength (MPa) and flexural modulus (MPa) mean values were calculated and compared using the on ranks One-Way ANOVA test. Scanning electron microscope analysis of the 3D-printed resins was performed. Significantly different flexural properties were recorded among the tested materials. The fiber-reinforced epoxy resin exhibited the highest flexural strength (418.0 MPa) while, among the 3D-printed resins, the best flexural strength was achieved by Irix-Max (135.0 MPa). Irix-Plus and Temporis led to the lowest mean flexural strength values (103.9 MPa and 101.3 MPa, respectively) of all the CAD/CAM milled materials, except for the conventional PMMA by Sintodent (88.9 MPa). The fiber-reinforced epoxy resin also showed the highest flexural modulus (14,672.2 MPa), followed by the heat-cured bis-acrylate composite (10,010.1 MPa). All 3D-printed resins had a higher flexural modulus than the conventional PMMA materials. CAD/CAM fiber-reinforced epoxy resin excels in flexural strength, with Irix-Max showing promising flexural properties, which could encourage its use for permanent restorations. Caution is needed with Irix-Plus and Temporis due to their lower flexural strength compared to other traditional materials.