Comparative Finite Element Analysis of Stress Concentration of Bioactive Composite Material in Class V Restorations Compared with Different Restorative Materials in Mandibular Premolar

Dental restorations play a vital role in restoring teeth affected by caries, with stress distribution being a key factor in their durability. Finite element analysis is numerical method which commonly applied in dentistry to calculate and predict stress distribution. The study aimed to calculate and evaluate the von Mises stress distribution in Class V restorations of a mandibular first premolar using three different materials under varying occlusal loads. The 3D model of the mandibular first premolar was used in this study. Computer-aided design (version 4.0 SR8, USA), MIMICS®, 3-MATIC® software (3-Matic Medical 13.0, Materialise NV, Belgium) were used for preparation of the 3D model. ANSYS 16.0 (2020) program was to calculate and evaluate the distance and stress distribution four different applied forces ranging from 100N to 250N. To simulate and replicate the impact of tooth contact during a lateral excursive movement, the applied forces were positioned inside the buccal cusp tip (0.4 mm, right angles).Activa™ BioActive-Restorative (BIO) showed improved stress distribution, its stress concentrations remained higher than the two tested restorative materials. Among the restorative materials tested, Cention40 dental composite exhibited the lowest stress concentrations, especially at 100N (28.02 MPa). Stress distribution was similar across all materials, with no significant differences between them (p = 0.202). This suggests that all materials performed similarly in terms of stress distribution. There were statistically significant differences between loads in term of stress (p = 0.004). Stress values increased significantly with higher occlusal loads for all groups (p < 0.05).All the restorative materials exhibited comparable stress distribution patterns. Load intensity is the dominant factor influencing stress distribution in Class V restorations.