Denture teeth can be made of polyacrylic (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) or composite resins. PMMA is a polymer, a material obtained from the union of methyl methacrylate monomers. PMMA properties include abrasion resistance, chemical stability and a high boiling point. (Jun Shen et al. 2011). However, the weak flexural and impact strength of PMMA is a cause for concern as it explains the failure of the prosthesis. (Bolayir G, Boztug A and Soygun K. 2013). Composite denture teeth consist of three distinct phases: filler, matrix, and coupling agents. Among the types of composite teeth available, nanofilled composite teeth are preferred. Composite teeth have a PMMA coating around the tooth and a high content of filler particles. This gives them strength, greater resistance to forces than acrylic teeth and provides complete curing thanks to the PMMA coating. (Anusavice, K.J., Phillips, R.W., Shen, C., & Rawls, H. R, 2012). If the interface between the PMMA denture base and the PMMA or composite teeth is weak, the denture will not be able to support occlusal forces, making the tooth-base interface a significant entity. The shrinkage molding method can be used to process a denture base acrylic. In this method, bite blocks are manufactured in the laboratory and sent to the clinic for testing on the patient. These are then received by the clinic and the teeth are mounted on the bite blocks. The wax is removed and the teeth are pressurized and set in a plaster mold. (McCabe and Walls. 2008.) Sodium alginate is applied to the mold to act as a separator and prevent any acrylic base monomers from entering the base and mold. Acrylic PMMA is applied to the mold and heat-cured or self-cured. Both of these curing methods form the... center of the paper... you can see that the composite teeth form a high stability bond compared to the PMMA teeth. This is due to the filler content which allows for low shrinkage, greater wear resistance and better cross-linking with the base. The general consensus is that the heat curing technique achieves significantly greater polymer cross-linking than self-curing the PMMA acrylic resin base, providing us with a stronger base-tooth interface. It should be noted, however, that both techniques can be used for denture fabrication to achieve the desired result and it is up to the dentist and technician to determine which they prefer; however, composite teeth bonded to a heat-cured PMMA base work best. Although the tooth and base themselves may be strong, if the interface between them is not strong, this will result in the overall denture produced being weak regardless of material selection.
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