On the three-point flexural tests of dental polymeric resins

Currently acrylic resins are commonly employed in many medical applications, especially for the fabrication of long span provisional restorations in dentistry and bone cement in orthopedics. One of the major problems associated with the conventional type of acrylic resins is their unsatisfactory mechanical properties. Among many attempts to strengthen acrylic resins, it has been demonstrated that they can be strengthened through the addition of reinforcement(s) as structural components of different size, shape and chemical composition, dispersed in the acrylic matrix, thus forming a composite structure.

In the course of studies to strengthen dental polymeric resins by admixing various metallic oxide particles, PMMA-, PEMA-, and PIMA-based resins were reinforced by 2 vol.% added alumina, magnesia, zirconia, and silica powders. It was found that PMMA admixed with 2 vol. % zirconia exhibited the best improvement of mechanical properties (breaking strength, modulus of elasticity, offset yield strength, and fracture toughness as well). All tests were conducted under three-point bending.

It was also found that the breaking strength based on the original sample dimension was, at most, 20% less than those based on the final sample dimension. Moreover, this discrepancy was independent of the type of tested material, but dependent on the sample's modulus of elasticity.