Abstract
Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is an extensively used material in dentistry because of its aesthetics, processability, and reparability. However, PMMA is still far from being ideal in fulfilling the mechanical requirements of prosthesis. PMMA-based denture base polymers exhibit low fracture resistance and radiopacity behavior. Efforts to improve the mechanical and radiopacity properties of denture base materials through inclusion of silica-based fillers are ongoing. Although silane-treated siliceous fillers are commonly used, they are not sufficiently strong. They also exhibit cracks, which either cut through the glass fillers or propagate around the filler particles. This defect occurs when the dental composites are placed in aqueous oral environment because of the hydrolytic degradation of silica-based fillers and silane-coupling agents. The clinical problem of using silanes in adhesion promotion is bond degradation over time in oral environment. In addition, silanes do not bond effectively to nonsilica-based dental restorative materials. This review presents titanium-derived fillers as alternatives to siliceous fillers. Titanate-coupling agents are found to be effective couplers in treating Ti-based fillers because of their chemical compatibility and relatively high stability in aqueous environment.
Highlights
Polymers are important in dentistry because their distinctive properties allow a range of clinical applications, which are impossible with the use of other types of materials
They were so well received by dental professionals that, by 1946, approximately 98% of all denture bases were based on Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)
PMMA has been commonly utilized in the fabrication of removable denture bases, a number of polymeric materials, such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyamide (PA), and poly(L-lactide) (PLLA), have been studied for their prosthodontic applications
Summary
Polymers are important in dentistry because their distinctive properties allow a range of clinical applications, which are impossible with the use of other types of materials. Polymeric matrices with silane-treated silica-based fillers are commonly used in dental restorative materials [3, 4]. These fillers do not exhibit sufficient strength to reinforce the resultant composites [4] and they leach in aqueous oral environment [5, 6]. Incorporation of alternative fillers should be considered, in which a suitable coupling agent is used to achieve an acceptable mechanical behavior of the dental composites. This narrative review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of inclusion of titanium-derived fillers in dental composites and denture bases. Such fillers should be treated by a titanate-coupling agent because of its relatively good hydrolytic stability compared with that of silanes and the inefficiency of silanized nonsilica-based fillers [7, 8]
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