The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of adhesives
is considered
to be a vital parameter for dental restoration due to the oral temperature
fluctuation induced by hot and cold drinks in daily life. Even more
challenging, the adhesives need to bond various materials with different
CTE values, and mismatched thermal expansion at the interface of two
materials will produce thermal stress and cause cracking, leading
to bond failure. In this study, we designed and synthesized a divinyl
monomer containing a dibenzocyclooctadiene (DBCOD) unit, which was
incorporated into a commercial adhesive, Single Bond Universal (SBU)
to prepare low CTE adhesives. The CTE value of the adhesives can be
adjusted low to 6.5 ppm/K, which is much lower than that of pure SBU.
Mimicking the real applying conditions, the composite resin columns
were bonded to the zirconia ceramics as a dental crown with our designed
adhesives, and the shear bond strength test was carried out before
and after 10 000 thermal cycles between 5 and 55 °C. The
shear bond strength of pure SBU retains 44.7% of its original value
after 10 000 thermal cycles, while those low CTE adhesives
retain 74.6% and 61.9% of shear bond strength due to less deformation
and interfacial stress during thermocycling. The newly designed adhesives
provide a persistent way to enhance the shear bond strength and achieve
a long lifetime in tooth restoration.