[A comparative analysis of the characteristics of META-DENT denture resin system]

A newly developed denture resin based on a 4-META containing monomer became recently commercially available. It has been claimed that this resin system has the unique ability of creating bond to Cr-Co alloys without any mechanical retention. The objective of this study was to determine the chemical composition of the new resin, to study the bonding mechanism with a Cr-Co alloy and to compare its physical and mechanical properties to a commonly used acrylic denture resin. The analysis revealed that the new system contains 5% by weight 4-META in MMA liquid and 28% poly (ethyl methacrylate) in PMMA. No practical differences were noted in the stress-strain characteristics and hardness values between the resin systems. The META-DENT resin was more abrasion resistant. The bond of META-DENT to the Cr-Co alloy was greatly superior than that of the conventional resin. The bonding mechanism may be related to enhanced physical wetting due to reduced META-DENT viscosity and probably complexation of the anhydride groups with either Cr or Co.