Effect of Dietary Simulating Solvents on the Mechanical Properties of Provisional Restorative Materials-An In Vitro Study.

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the mechanical properties of provisional restorative materials after storage in dietary simulating solvents. A total of 120 specimens, 40 specimens each of Luxatemp Star, Revotek LC and DPI Self Cure were prepared. The specimens were divided into four groups with 10 specimens each and stored in dietary simulating solvents for 7 days at 37 °C as follows: Group I-Control, Group II-Artificial saliva, Group III-0.02 N Citric acid and Group IV-Heptane. After 7 days, flexural strength was obtained using universal testing machine at a crosshead speed of 5 mm/min and the fractured specimens were immediately subjected to the microhardness test knoop hardness number by using Knoop microhardness tester (10 gm/15 s). The data were analyzed for difference by use of Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn's multiple comparison tests using a significance level of 0.05 to determine the mean differences. Significant effect was observed on the properties of provisional restorative materials after storage in dietary simulating solvents as compared to the control group (p ≤ 0.05). Bis-acryl resin based Luxatemp Star showed significantly superior flexural strength and hardness as compared to the Revotek LC and DPI Self Cure in dietary simulating solvents. Within the limitations of this study, it may be concluded that dietary simulating solvents showed significant influence on the mechanical properties of the provisional restorative materials.