Thermal properties of dental materials--cavity liner and pulp capping agent.

We studied the thermal properties of cavity liners that included calcium phosphate as inorganic filler, in contrast to the conventional pulp capping agents. Therefore, thermal diffusivity, specific heat capacity, and thermal conductivity were measured. In addition, thermal conductivity results were compared with those of restorative materials and human dentin to examine thermal insulation effects. The thermal conductivity of cavity liners ranged from 0.23 to 0.28 W m(-1) K(-1), and that of pulp capping agents ranged from 0.44 to 0.48 W m(-1) K(-1). Test results indicated that the thermal conductivity of cavity liner was lower than those of human dentin, pulp capping agent, cast alloy, and composite resin for restoration, hence suggesting that cavity liner has a good thermal insulation effect.