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This study analyzed the reaction layer and measured the marginal crown fit of cast titanium applied to different phosphate-bonded investments, prepared under the following conditions (liquid concentration/casting temperature): Rema Exakt (RE) - 100%/237 degrees C, 75%/287 degrees C, Castorit Super C (CS)-100%/70 degrees C, 75%/141 degrees C and Rematitan Plus (RP)- 100%/430 degrees C (special to titanium cast, as the control group). The reaction layer was studied using the Vickers hardness test, and analyzed by two way ANOVA and Tukey's HSD tests (alpha = 0.05). Digital photographs were taken of the crowns seated on the die, the misfit was measured using an image analysis system and One-way ANOVA, and Tukey's test was applied (alpha = 0.05). The hardness decreased from the surface (601.17 VHN) to 150 microm (204.03 VHN). The group CS 75%/141 degrees C presented higher hardness than the other groups, revealing higher surface contamination, but there were no differences among the groups at measurements deeper than 150 mum. The castings made with CS - 100%/70 degrees C presented the lowest levels of marginal misfit, followed by RE -100%/237 degrees C. The conventional investments CS (100%) and RE (100%) showed better marginal fit than RP, but the CS (75%) had higher surface contamination.

The purpose of this study was to compare the compressive strengths and compressive fatigue limits of three posterior composite resins (Filtek P-60, Surefil and Prodigy Condensable) and a universal restorative composite (Z-100). Cylindrical specimens (8 mm in length x 4 mm in diameter) were used. The dynamic test was performed using the staircase method, and the ratio between compressive fatigue limit and compressive resistance was also calculated (n = 15). The compressive strength and compressive fatigue limit data were analyzed by Anova and Tukeys test. The Z-100 composite demonstrated higher compression strength (307.20 MPa) than Surefil (266.93 MPa) and Prodigy Condensable (222.08 MPa). The resistance of Filtek P-60 (270.44 MPa) was similar to the resistances of Z-100 and Surefil, while Prodigy Condensable presented the lowest compressive strength. In the compressive fatigue limit tests, Filtek P-60 demonstrated a higher value (184.20 MPa) than Prodigy Condensable (155.50 MPa). Surefil (165.74 MPa) and Z-100 (161.22 MPa) presented limits similar to those of Filtek P-60 and Prodigy Condensable. The compressive fatigue limit/compressive strength ratio was 70.01% for Prodigy Condensable, 68.11% for Filtek P-60, 62.09% for Surefil and 52.48% for Z-100. It was concluded that the Z-100 universal composite was more sensitive to the dynamic test than the high viscosity materials.

In metallic restorations, the polymerization of dual-curing resin cements depends exclusively on chemical activation. The effect of the lack of photoactivation on the strength of these cements has been rarely studied. This study evaluated the influence of activation modes on the diametral tensile strength (DTS) of dual-curing resin cements. Base and catalyst pastes of Panavia F, Variolink II, Scotchbond Resin Cement, Rely X and Enforce were mixed and inserted into cylindrical metal moulds (4 x 2 mm). Cements were either: 1) not exposed to light (chemical activation = self-cured groups) or 2) photoactivated through mylar strips (chemical and photo-activation = dual-cured groups) (n = 10). After a 24 h storage in 37 masculineC distilled water, specimens were subjected to compressive load in a testing machine. A self-curing resin cement (Cement-It) and a zinc phosphate cement served as controls. Comparative analyses were performed: 1) between the activation modes for each dual-curing resin cement, using Students t test; 2) among the self-cured groups of the dual-curing resin cements and the control groups, using one-way ANOVA and Tukeys test (alpha = 0.05). The dual-cured groups of Scotchbond Resin Cement (53.3 MPa), Variolink II (48.4 MPa) and Rely X (51.6 MPa) showed higher DTS than that of self-cured groups (44.6, 40.4 and 44.5 MPa respectively) (p < 0.05). For Enforce (48.5 and 47.8 MPa) and Panavia F (44.0 and 43.3 MPa), no significant difference was found between the activation modes (p > 0.05). The self-cured groups of all the dual-curing resin cements presented statistically the same DTS as that of Cement-It (44.1 MPa) (p > 0.05), and higher DTS than that of zinc phosphate (4.2 MPa). Scotchbond Resin Cement, Variolink II and Rely X depended on photoactivation to achieve maximum DTS. In the absence of light, all the dual-curing resin cements presented higher DTS than that of zinc phosphate and statistically the same as that of Cement-It (p > 0.05).

During the cementation of metallic restorations, the polymerization of dual-curing resin cements depends exclusively on chemical activation. This study evaluated the influence of chemical activation compared with dual-curing (chemical and light activation), on the hardness of four dual-curing resin cements. In a darkened environment, equal weight proportions of base and catalyst pastes of the cements Scotchbond Resin Cement, Variolink II, Enforce and Panavia F were mixed and inserted into moulds with cavities of 4 mm in diameter and 2 mm in height. Subsequently, the cements were: 1) not exposed to light (chemical activation = self-cured groups) or 2) photoactivated (dual-curing = dual-cured groups). The Vickers hardness number was measured at 1 hour, 24 hours and 7 days after the start time of cements' spatulation. For all the cements, the hardness values of self-cured groups were lower than those of the respective dual-cured groups at 1 hour and 24 hours. At 7 days, this behavior continued for Variolink II and Panavia F, whilst for Scotchbond Resin Cement and Enforce there was no statistical difference between the two activation modes. All cements showed a significant increase in their hardness values from 1 hour to 7 days for both activation modes. Of the self-cured groups, Scotchbond Resin Cement and Variolink II presented the highest and the lowest hardness values, respectively, for all three times tested. Within the limitations of this study, up to the time of 24 h, chemical activation alone was unable to promote similar hardness as to that obtained with dual-curing.