Characteristics of Ethoxylated-BisGMA as Base Resin of Restorative Composite

The characteristics of Ethoxylated-BisGMA (E-GMA) composite were investigated to find out its possibility as an alternative to Bis-GMA. Even though Bis-GMA has been most commonly used as a major matrix for the restorative composites, Bis-GMA has an inherent problem of huge viscosity. In this study, the properties of E-GMA composite were investigated and compared with those of Bis-GMA composite. The E-GMA composite exhibited much better physical-chemical properties than Bis-GMA/TEGDMA (70wt%/30wt%) composite; for example, deeper depth of cure, higher degree-of-conversion (DC), lower polymerization shrinkage, and lower water sorption. From these experimental results, it might be suggested that E-GMA could be used as a promising alternative to the most widely used material of Bis-GMA.