Comprehensive analysis of repair/reinforcement materials for polymethyl methacrylate denture bases: mechanical and...

Fracture of complete denture is a common problem as acrylic resins hold inherent limitations. This necessitates affirmation of a selection criterion by evaluating the critical requirements of repair materials. The study intended to evaluate mechanical properties and dimensional stability of common denture base repair and reinforcement materials under standard experimental protocol. Seven types of denture reinforcement materials were chosen. Forty cuboidal samples were made in accordance with ISO 178 for three point bending test and divided to eight groups of five samples each. One group acted as control and samples of seven groups were sectioned and repaired with chosen materials. Five mechanical properties-fracture load, deflection, flexural strength, fracture toughness and elastic modulus were evaluated for all groups. Forty mandibular complete denture specimens were utilized for evaluating fracture load and deflection under loading. Dimensional stability after repair with seven different repair materials was analyzed in two planes (Linear and curvilinear) utilizing separate set of denture samples. Heat cure polymethyl methacrylate with polyethylene fiber was affirmed as material of choice based on this study as it accomplishes the most critical norms of requirement.