Properties of a New Dental Photocurable Matrix Resin with Low Shrinkage

In order to reduce the amount of volumetric shrinkage that occurs in dental composites as a result of curing, a new kind of dental matrix resin combining bisphenol-S-bis(3-meth acry late-2-hydroxy propyl)ether(BisS-GMA) with the expanding monomer unsaturated spiro orthoesters 2-methylene-1, 4, 6-trispiro[4, 4] nonane (SOE) was prepared, with triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) as diluent. CQ (camphorquinone) of 1 wt% and DMAEMA (2-(dimethylamino) ethyl meth acrylate) of 2wt% were used as photoinitiation system to initiate the copolymerization of the matrix resins. The performance including volumetric shrinkage, degree of conversion and condition of the ring-opening reaction of SOE, as well as curing time and the tensile bond strength were investigated respectively by the dilatometer, Fourier transfer infrared, the universal testing machine, and so on. The ring-opening polymerization of SOE occurred. Meanwhile, the obtain copolymers were crosslinked. The matrix resin containing BisS-GMA and SOE showed a reduced amount of volumetric shrinkage at 1.52%, which is a promising strategy for obtaining a polymer with a low amount of volumetric shrinkage. Furthermore, the other properties were not compromised.