title: Reinforcement of denture base resin with glass fillers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study evaluated the effect of short glass fibers on the transverse strength of a heat-polymerized acrylic resin denture base material.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four groups of specimens (n = 10) were fabricated according to the ISO standard for the transverse strength test. E-glass fibers were triturated to produce short fibers of different lengths. Specimens for Group 1 (control) were made of unfilled polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). For group 2, the PMMA powder was modified with 0.1 g of dry glass fibers. For group 3, the PMMA powder was modified with 0.1 g of silanized glass fibers. For group 4, the PMMA powder was modified with 0.2 g of silanized glass fibers. A three-point loading test was used to determine the transverse strength of the tested specimens. The fracture surface of each specimen was evaluated using SEM.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The addition of untreated glass fibers increased the transverse strength by 11% but produced some porosity in the polymeric matrix. The addition of silane-treated glass fibers increased the transverse strength of PMMA by 28% for group 3 and by 26% for group 4, and produced a dense structure for the polymer-fiber composite.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The transverse strength of PMMA can be slightly increased by the addition of short glass fibers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Removable Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Marei
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003819:Denture Bases; D005898:Glass / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D010316:Particle Size; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate / Q000737:chemistry*; D016062:Porosity; D012821:Silanes / Q000737:chemistry; D013718:Tensile Strength
chemical_list: D012821:Silanes; C009753:fiberglass; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate