Stress/strain behavior of some dental luting cements

The compressive strength, modulus of elasticity and the plastic strain at fracture have been studied for several dental luting cements. Stress/strain diagrams of cylindrical specimens using two different crosshead speeds (2 mm/min and 0.1 mm/min) at 23 degrees and 37 degrees C showed that large differences existed between various luting cements. A zinc phosphate cement exihibited high strength, high modulus of elasticity and a small plastic strain at fracture. A resin cement also had high strength, but elastic and plastic strains were high. A polycarboxylate and an EBA-cement both showed low values of strength and modulus of elasticity combined with a high degree of plastic deformation at fracture. Testing with low strain rate at 37 degrees C accentuated the differences between these two materials and the zinc phosphate cement.