Thermophysical properties of dental filling materials. Part I: thermal properties
Andrzej J Panas, Janusz Terpiłowski, Jan Trykowski, Paweł Zaborowski, Stanisław Żmuda
The thermal properties of three light-curable filling materials were determined. The materials under test were: compomer Compoglass® F, and two hybrid composites, Tetric and Valux™ Plus. The heat capacity measurements were conducted by power-compensated differential scanning calorimetry. The thermal diffusivity was investigated with the use of a laser-flash apparatus. Measurements were based on the modified Parker method. In both cases basic experiments were carried out within a narrow temperature range around 35 °C, ie from about 20 °C to about 50 °C, which corresponds to estimated typical operating temperatures for dental fillings. The obtained thermal characteristics of the specific heat and the thermal diffusivity were used for calculation of the thermal conductivity of the investigated materials.