Chemical Composition, Degree of Conversion and Flexural Properties of a Three-Dimensional Printed Denture Base Resin
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Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the chemical composition, degree of conversion (DC), and flexural properties of a commercially available 3D printing denture base resin, and to compare them with a conventional heat-cured denture base resin.
Materials and Methods: A 3D-printed denture base resin (NextDent Denture 3D+, NDD) and a conventional heat-polymerized resin (ProBase® Hot, PBH) were investigated. The chemical compositions of the unpolymerized NDD resin were characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR), and high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS). The DC of both materials was measured via FTIR analysis. Flexural strength, modulus, and yield stress were determined using a three-point bending test per ISO 20795-1:2013 guidelines.
Results: HPLC/MS analysis revealed that NDD primarily consists of Bis-EMA monomers with 3–7 ethylene oxide units. The PBH resin demonstrated a significantly higher DC (97.59±1.14%) than NDD (69.81±4.90%) (p<0.001). Flexural strength and modulus of PBH (99.40±6.56 MPa; 2812.20±54.44 MPa) were also significantly higher than NDD (88.58±8.50 MPa; 2625.40±368.42 MPa) (p<0.001). Despite the differences, both materials met ISO flexural property standards.
Conclusion: The 3D printing resin primarily contains Bis-EMA with varied chain extender lengths and exhibits lower DC and flexural properties compared to the heat-cured resin. Optimization of printing and post-curing parameters is necessary to improve polymerization and mechanical performance of 3D-printed denture bases.
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