Comparative study of flexural strength and fracture resistance of two different types of provisional restorative materials reinforced with two different fibers - An invitro study

Aim of the study: The aim of this study is to compare and analyze the flexural strength and fracture resistance of two different provisional restorative materials reinforced with two different types of fibres. Materials and Methods: Two commonly used resins, namely DPI (poly methyl methacrylate) and UNIFAST III (a mixture of poly methyl and poly ethyl methacrylates) were chosen in this study. These materials were reinforced with 5 wt% of nylon and 5 wt% of E-glass fibers forming a total of 12 groups with a total sample size of 120 (60 for flexural strength test and 60 for fracture resistance test). Both the tests were performed using 3- point bending tests and results were recorded. The results were then analyzed by using ANOVA and Scheffe’s Post Hoc test. Results: The mean flexural strengths of DPI control specimens, DPI specimens reinforced with 5 wt% nylon fibers and DPI specimens reinforced with 5 wt% E-Glass fibers were 3.07 MPa, 4.167 MPa and 5.280 MPa respectively, the mean flexural strengths of UNIFAST III control specimens, UNIFAST III specimens reinforced with 5 wt% nylon fibers and UNIFAST III specimens reinforced with 5 wt% E-Glass fibers were 3.948 MPa, 5.208 MPa and 5.886 MPa respectively. The mean fracture resistances of DPI control specimens, DPI specimens reinforced with 5 wt% nylon fibers and DPI specimens reinforced with 5 wt% E-Glass fibers were 2.08 MPa, 2.278 MPa and 2.989 MPa respectively. The mean fracture resistances of UNIFAST III control specimens, UNIFAST III specimens reinforced with 5 wt% nylon fibers and UNIFAST III specimens reinforced with 5 wt% E-Glass fibers were 2.654 MPa, 2.75 MPa and 3.535 MPa respectively. Conclusion: Within the limitations of the study it was concluded that silanated E-Glass fibers exhibited superior flexural strength and fracture resistance for both DPI and UNIFAST III materials. It was also noticed that, between DPI and UNIFAST III materials UNIFAST III exhibited superior flexural strength and fracture resistance.