An Undergraduate Research Project to Test a Composite Wetting Resin Material for Dental Applications

This paper describes and presents key results from a multidisciplinary undergraduate research project conducted by a professor at the dental school and an engineering sophomore student at XXXX University. By adopting the educational paradigm of “Learning by Doing”, this research project is used as a student learning tool for comprehension and reinforcement of concepts in basic engineering courses in the undergraduate engineering curriculum; such as engineering materials and mechanics of materials. The main purpose of this project is to assess the efficacy of a wetting repair resin called Composite Wetting Resin (Ultradent Product Inc. South Jordan UT), in the adding of uncured composite material to cured composite material. The strength of the composite filling materials was tested using a universal material testing machine. The universal testing machine uses specific strength tests and equations to calculate the overall stress of a composite. Fresh composite samples are made and tested by applying a simple 3-point bend test. In addition, three-dimensional (3-D) numerical models were created and analyzed using the SolidWorks software and its analysis package.The project hypothesizes that the old equations of stress modeling are overestimating the applied stress of dental composite.