Analysis of the wear resistance of PMMA in dentistry

The wear resistance of PMMA in dentistry has certain limitations, but it can be improved in various ways.

PMMA itself has poor wear resistance. It is prone to fracture under cyclic loads and has a tendency to absorb water, which may lead to a decline in its mechanical properties and a decrease in wear resistance. However, to improve the shortcomings of PMMA resin such as poor surface hardness and poor wear resistance, a few percent of crosslinking agent can be added to the PMMA monomer, for example, a small amount of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate can be added to form a copolymerizable monomer. Or, glass powder, short glass fiber filaments, etc. can be added to PMMA resin particles to form composite materials.

In addition, other methods can also be adopted to enhance the wear resistance of PMMA. For instance, fiber-reinforced acrylic resin can enhance the flexural strength, impact strength and fatigue resistance of the resin, thereby improving its wear resistance. A number of studies that have been carried out have used different types of fibers, such as nylon, polyethylene, polyamide fibers, especially glass fibers, because they have biocompatibility as well as excellent aesthetic and mechanical properties. Glass fiber reinforced materials have been found to significantly enhance the flexural strength, impact strength, toughness and Vickers hardness of acrylic resin, while the deformation of denture bases is significantly reduced to less than 1%.