Biomechanical model produced from light-activated dental composite resins: A holographic analysis

Abstract

Light-activated dental composites, commonly applied in dentistry, can be used as excellent material for producing biomechanical models. They can be cast in almost any shape in an appropriate silicone mold and quickly solidified by irradiation with light in the blue part of the spectrum. In that way, it is possible to obtain any number of nearly identical casts. The models can be used to study the behavior of arbitrary structure under mechanical loads. To test the technique, a simple mechanical model of the tooth with a mesio-occluso-distal cavity was manufactured. Composite resin restoration was placed inside the cavity and light cured. Real-time holographic interferometry was used to analyze the contraction of the composite resin and its effect on the surrounding material. The results obtained in the holographic experiment were in good agreement with those obtained using the finite element method. © 2013 The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.