Abstract
Knowledge about the influence of fillers in denture base resin is vague. This systematic review aimed to report the reinforcing effect of fillers on the mechanical properties of denture base resin by following PRISMA guidelines. Two electronic databases (Pubmed/Medline & Web of Science) were searched for articles using the keywords: fibers in denture base, fillers in denture base, and reinforcement of denture base. Laboratory studies complying with the inclusion criteria were reviewed according to the set protocol. The established focus question was: “Do reinforcing fillers positively influence the mechanical properties of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) heat polymerized denture base material?” A total of twenty-nine relevant papers qualified for final inclusion. Of these, 24 were determined to have a moderate risk of bias. Micron or nano-sized metal/metal oxides particles and glass fibers were the frequently used reinforcing agents. The trend of evaluating fractural strength (FS) was common. Most of the studies limited the use of reinforcing agents up to 5 wt.%. FS, fracture toughness (FT), and impact strength (IS) tend to increase if the fillers are chemically bonded and well-dispersed in denture base resin. Though fillers with a higher elastic modulus increase the hardness of the reinforced denture base resin, they compromise other mechanical properties. Well-dispersed lower filler loading PMMA denture base resin can enhance the FS, FT, and other related mechanical properties.
Highlights
Vulcanite, bakelite, celluloid, and phenol formaldehyde were the materials that were the most commonly used for denture base resin fabrication before the advent of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) [1]
A total of 378 potentially relevant papers were retrieved due to the primary search conducted from 1 January 2010 until 21 April 2021
The data were imported into Endnote X9 software (Thompson Reuters, Philadelphia, PA, USA) to remove duplicates (137 papers)
Summary
Bakelite, celluloid, and phenol formaldehyde were the materials that were the most commonly used for denture base resin fabrication before the advent of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) [1]. These materials had associated disadvantages such as poor aesthetics, high dentistry, brittleness, difficult manipulation, being prone to staining, etc. The use of PMMA as a denture base resin started in the 1930s This material possesses many advantages such as low cost, ease in fabrication, polishing, biocompatibility, satisfactory aesthetics, low density, and colour matching ability [1,8,9]. The associated disadvantages, which include insufficient hardness, flexural strength, toughness, and elastic modulus, make this material highly prone to fracture and cause clinical failure [10,11,12,13]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
