Properties of expanding SOC/epoxy copolymers for dental use in dental composites.

The objective of this work was to develop copolymers of alicyclic spiroorthocarbonates (SOCs) and epoxies that would yield hard non-shrinking matrix resins suitable for formulating dental composites. Several reactant ratio combinations of a four-component SOC/epoxy comonomer system were developed that demonstrated a copolymer expansion of between 0.1 and 0.8% on polymerization. The physical properties of tensile strength (29-48 MPa), water solubility of less than 5 microgram/mm(3), and water sorption of less than 50 microgram/mm(3) for the copolymer containing 5% SOC suggest that these materials have potential as matrix resins for dental composites.