Braided Composite Configurations for Dental Applications

Abstract

Braiding technology has been introduced to the composites industry in a spectrum of applications. Braiding configuration is defined by monitoring its variables according to the intended final usage which is the dental fiber posts in this study. Fiber post is a small rod used to support the teeth that have short clinical crown in the definitive restoration. Fiber posts are accepted widely because of their enhanced aesthetic and mechanical properties which enrich the dental field. Braided composite’s manufacturing process used to be achieved by passing the braided perform through the resin emulations, but in this paper a novel procedure is followed to fabricate the posts through two consecutive processes; first is the braiding process while the second is the melting process. Three different thermoplastic types; Polypropylene (PP), Polyester (PET), and Polyamide (PA) have been braided with the glass-fibers (GF), then the thermoplastic part of the braided perform has been melted to achieve the composite posts. The posts were assessed visually and mechanically, PP posts show the best performance visually and mechanically while PET posts show the least values in the mechanical testing and the most brittle forms in the visual assessment. Moreover, the PA posts show better mechanical values than the PET, but and the least homogenous forms in the visual assessment. The PET and PA posts brittleness could be attributed to the fabrication method used in this current approach which could have caused an accumulation of humidity because of less applied pressure on the mold during the melting process