Isolation and identification of biodegradation products released from dental composite resins with varying concentrations of resin and filler

o date, dental literature has not specifically considered the role of filler content on the susceptibility of composite materials to undergo enzyme induced biodegradation. This study assesses the effect of filler content on the liberation of biodegradation products derived from commercial composites and a series of Bis-phenyl glycidyl dimethacrylate (Bis-GMA)/triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) based model materials. Composite resins were incubated with either cholesterol esterase or PBS buffer for 8, 16 and 32 days. The identified products were the same for both the commercial and the model composite resins, with the exception of a urethane-based composite resin, TPH (Caulk/Dentsply). These products included TEGDMA, 2,2-bis (4(2,3-hydroxypropoxy)phenyl) propane (Bis-HPPP), triethylene glycol methacrylate (TEGMA), and an oligomer believed to contain TEGDMA segments. The amount of isolated TEGMA and Bis-HPPP products for all composite resins was shown to be significantly higher (p...