THE EFFECT OF MONOMER TO POWDER RATIO ON POLYMERIZATION SHRINKAGE-STRAIN KINETICS OF POLYMER-BASED PROVISIONAL CROWN AND FIXED PARTIAL DENTURE MATERIALS

Statement of problem. Although a number of previous investigations have been carried out on the polymerization shrinkage-strain kinetics of provisional crown and fixed partial denture (FPD) materials, the effect of the changes of liquid monomer to powder ratio on its polymerization shrinkage-strain kinetics has not been reported. Purpose. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of liquid monomer to powder ratio of polymer-based provisional crown and FPD materials on the polymerization shrinkage-strain kinetics. Material and methods. Chemically activated acrylic provisional materials (Alike, Jet, Snap) were investigated. Each material was mixed with different liquid monomer to powder ratios by volume (1.0:3.0, 1.0:2.5, 1.0:2.0, 1.0:1.5, 1.0:1.0). Time dependent polymerization shrinkage- strain kinetics of all materials was measured by the bonded-disk method as a function of time at $23^{\circ}C$. Five recordings were taken for each ratio. The results were statistically analyzed using one-way ANOVA and the multiple comparison Scheffe test at the significance level of 0.05. Trends were also examined by linear regression. Results. At 5 minutes after mixing, the polymerization shrinkage-strains of all materials ranged from only 0.01% to 0.49%. At 10 minutes, the shrinkage-strain of Alike was the highest, 3.45% (liquid monomer to powder ratio=1.0:3.0). Jet and Snap were 2.69% (1.0:2.0) and 1.58% (1.0:3.0), respectively (P>0.05). Most shrinkage (94.3%-96.5%) occurred at 30 minutes after mixing for liquid monomer to powder ratio, ranging from 1.0:3.0 to 1.0:1.0. The highest polymerization shrinkage-strain values were observed for the liquid monomer to powder ratio of 1.0:3.0. At 120 minutes after mixing, the shrinkage-strain values were 4.67%, 4.18%, and 3.07% for Jet, Alike, and Snap, respectively. As the liquid monomer to powder ratio increased, the shrinkage-strain values tend to be decreased linearly (r=-0.769 for Alike, -0.717 for Jet, -0.435 for Snap, $r^2=0.592$ for Alike, 0.515 for Jet, 0.189 for Snap; P<0.05). Conclusion. The increase of the liquid monomer to powder ratio from 1.0:3.0 to 1.0:1.0 had a significant effect on the shrinkage-strain kinetics of polymer-based crown and FPD materials investigated. This increased the working time and decreased the shrinkage-strain during polymerization.