effects of incorporation of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on mechanical properties of conventional glass ionomer cement

Background: due to the poor mechanical properties of glass ionomer cement (gics), their use is limited to low stress-bearing areas. this study aimed to assess the effect of the addition of titanium dioxide (tio2) nanoparticles on the flexural strength and surface hardness of gic. methods: in this in vitro study, 3, 5, and 10 wt.% tio2 nanoparticles were added to fuji ii conventional gic powder. the purity and composition of the as-synthesized titania were investigated by using xrd and ft-ir tools. the homogeneity of powder particles within the used matrix was evaluated under a scanning electron microscope (sem).results: the sem micrographs confirmed the homogenous mixing of tio2 nanoparticles with gic powder.conclusion: nevertheless, the flexural strength of experimental groups was not significantly different from that of the control group (p=0.384). however, the surface hardness of experimental groups was decreased in comparison with that of the control group (p<0.001).