The effects of heat treatment on selected properties of a conventional and a resin-modified glass ionomer cement.

This study investigated the effects of application of heat alone and heat & pressure on the compressive strength and modulus, the stress relaxation characteristics and the fluoride release of a conventional and a resin-modified glass ionomer cement. Cylindrical specimens were made from both materials and divided into 3 groups. One group was heat treated in an oven at 120 degrees C for 20 min, another group was subjected to heat & pressure at 120 degrees C for 20 min at 6-bar pressure. The third group acted as a control. The compressive strength and modulus, stress relaxation and fluoride release were tested over 56 days. The results of this investigation indicate that heat treatment had no significant effect on the conventional GIC used but significantly affected the resin modified GIC by increasing both the compressive strength and modulus and reducing the stress relaxation characteristics and the fluoride release. The use of GIC to produce inlay or onlay restorations that adhere to tooth tissue and release fluoride would be highly desirable. The results of this study indicate that it is possible to improve the strength of RMGIC with heat to a limited extent, but fluoride release may decrease.