Effect of immersion in various media on the sorption, solubility, elution of unreacted monomers, and flexural properties of two model dental composite compositions

Immersion in various media has different effect on the properties of dental composites, such as sorption, solubility, elution of unreacted monomers, flexural strength, and flexural elastic modulus. In the present work, the effect of immersion in various media and the relationship between the variation of these properties and the components of dental composite were investigated. Two model dental composites were immersed in three different media-distilled water, artificial saliva, and ethanol/water, respectively, for a certain time. Their sorption, solubility, flexural strength, and flexural elastic modulus were tested according to the international standard. Elution of unreacted monomers was analyzed by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the surface morphology of samples after immersion was observed using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results showed that the effect on properties depended on the immersion media where ethanol/water had the most significant effect and these properties were related to the components of dental composite.