A COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF CONVENTIONAL GLASS IONOMER CEMENT AND A NEW HYBRID RESTORATIVE MATERIAL GIOMER

Abstract

The primary objective of this study was to investigate the effects of different beverages on the compressive strengths of 2 restorative materials; GIOMER and GIC. Although during mastication multiple forces act on the restoration materials i.e. compression, flexure strength, and tension, compression was chosen because it dominates them. Compressive strength has shown to be superior in predicting mechanical properties in stress-bearing situations.

The materials used were GIOMER (Beautifil II) and GIC. A total of 54 samples each of GIOMER and GIC were made. 18 controls each of GIOMER and GIC were made. The samples were divided into 3 groups and then immersed into one of three media (coffee, orange juice, and distilled water) for 24 hours. UTM was used to calculate the compressive strength of all the materials.

It was found that the compressive strength of Giomer was greater than GIC (61.1 Mpa vs 14.3 Mpa). Immersion in orange juice caused a noticable decrease in the compressive strengths of both GIOMER (61.1 Mpa vs 39.8 Mpa) and GIC samples (14.3 Mpa vs 10.3 Mpa).

Within the constraints of this study, it can be concluded that orange juice due to the presence of acetic acid, causes greater damage in the mechanical properties of both GIOMER and GIC. Other solutions used don’t change compressive strength significantly in GIOMER samples. Due to post hardening mechanism, the compressive strength of GIC samples can be increased after immersion.