FILM THICKNESS, DIAMETRAL TENSILE STRENGTH AND FRACTURE SURFACE OF ALUMINA REINFORCED DENTAL CEMENT

Noor Huda Ismail; Raja Azman Raja Awang; Thirumulu Ponnuraj  Kannan; Zuratul Ain  Abdul Hamid; Mariatti Jaafar

Noor Huda Ismail School of Dental Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia
Raja Azman Raja Awang School of Dental Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia
Thirumulu Ponnuraj Kannan School of Dental Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia
Zuratul Ain Abdul Hamid School of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Penang, Malaysia
Mariatti Jaafar School of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Penang, Malaysia

Keywords: Dental cement, rice husk, alumina, tensile strength, fracture surface

Abstract

An ideal film thickness and optimum diametral tensile strength are important for the longevity of dental cement. This study aims to investigate the effects of different concentrations of alumina on the properties of dental cement derived from silica obtained from rice husk. Alumina reinforcements (3 and 10 wt%) were used in the formulation. Negative control specimen (0 wt% alumina) and commercial dental cement Rely-X (3M ESPE) were also prepared concurrently for comparison purpose. All the specimens were analysed for film thickness (FT), diametral tensile strength (DTS) and fracture surfaces. One-way ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey's test were used to analyse the data. Results showed that FT was significantly increased with the addition of alumina reinforcement (3 and 10 wt%) (p < 0.05). DTS values increased with the addition of alumina compared to negative control (0 wt% alumina) (p > 0.05). However, the differences were not statistically significant for 3 wt% and 10 wt% alumina (p > 0.05). Fractographic analysis showed the presence of crack branches with reinforcement of alumina which indicates the deviation of stress distribution to support force applied.