>The Right Material for Stronger Dentures

Reinforcing dental appliances can be a challenge for dental technicians. Metal reinforcements add weight and bulk, are usually un-aesthetic, and their efficacy is doubted by many. "Metal only holds the appliance together when it breaks" is a refrain heard from technicians everywhere. Using modern materials dental technicians can now offer their customers truly reinforced dental appliances.

Reinforce Fast - Reinforce Easy - Reinforce Affordable

Using a proprietary technology, FiBER FORCE® fibers are pre-impregnated in a light-cured resin, and require no additional treatment. Following a simple process a mesh framework can be made in about twenty minutes, and repairs and local reinforcements are even simpler. FiBER FORCE reinforcements are affordable to your customers and getting into the system requires only a small upfront investment.

>Some FiBER FORCE Applications

1. Full denture fabrication

The simple FiBER FORCE® technique is an ideal option to offer to all patients in need of full dentures. One package of mesh is enough material for up to three cases of full denture reinforcement with full palatal coverage. Two and a half cases is a reasonable average.

2. Implant-supported dentures and over dentures

FiBER FORCE® offers a an easy and inexpensive alternative that is strong, esthetic, comfortable, highly resistant to fatigue, and that offers bio-mechanics more similar to those of mandibular bone. A similar approach has been taken in aeronautics for all structures that must be lightweight and fatigue resistant.

3. Repairs of existing dentures and additions to dentures

One study has confirmed that dentures repaired with fiber reinforcements are 58% stronger than the original dentures and 166% stronger than dentures repaired with acrylic alone.

Reinforced Invisibly

FiBER FORCE® pre-impregnated fibres have extremely high tensile strength – nearly three times that of the most common casting alloy chrome-cobalt. FiBER FORCE® fibers are far more elastic than chrome-cobalt, making them a better match to the elasticity level of denture base acrylic and composite resin. They also bond chemically to acrylic and composite. The physical properties of the fibers themselves, coupled with the chemical bond that's created, results in a significant level of reinforcement.

Reinforce More

Reinforcement of dental appliances is usually done when it's determined that the appliance won't attain its expected service life without the reinforcement. Yet the disadvantages of metallic reinforcements often lead technicians to choose the lesser of two evils – no reinforcement. This choice can lead to another problem: the need to repair an appliance that did not stand up. With FiBER FORCE® you can now create a reinforcement that is resistant, adds no weight or bulk and is virtually invisible – the first time.

FiBER FORCE® Applications

FiBER FORCE® is a versatile system that can be adapted to address reinforcement needs in many situations. In many ways the uses of FiBER FORCE® are only limited by your imagination and the case at hand.

• Full and partial acrylic dentures
• Implant supported dentures
• Full acrylic dentures with soft liner
• Adding a tooth to an existing full or partial denture
• Bruxing appliances and night guards
• Long term provisional bridges
• Long term provisional acrylic implant supported
• Long term provisional acrylic implant supported prostheses; eg. All on Four© provisional
• Composite Maryland bridges
• Single tooth provisional for implant cases
• Provisional acrylic flippers
• Use anywhere fiber reinforcement products are indicated.

Avantages of FiBER FORCE®

• Reinforce without adding weight and bulk
• Reinforce without compromising aesthetics
• Address problems before they occur
• Extend the service life of the appliances
• Easy to integrate into current processes
• Easy to use
• Versatile – many applications
• Generate additional revenue
• Low upfront costs - great return on investment.

The Science of Fibers

The efficacy of fibers for the reinforcement of denture base acrylic and other composite resins is well documented.

The research tells us four things:

• Both metal and fibers reinforce acrylic/composite, to varying extents
• Fibers reinforce more than metals
• Some fiber materials are stronger than others (eg. E-glass stronger then polythelene)
• Some types of fibers reinforce more than others (eg. UD or uni-directional fibers are more resistant than braided fibers).

The attraction of using E-glass material is due to its physical properties. As seen in the table below, E-glass has on one hand a very high tensile strength, yet on the other hand is a relatively elastic material. This is ideal for the type of stress forces seen intra-orally: repetitive forces that place a long-term strain on the appliance. Due to their inherent fatigue resistance FiBER FORCE® reinforcements allow the appliance to stand up to the stresses delivered.

Material	Tensile Strength (MPa)	Young's Elastic Modulus (GPa)
E-Glass	2000	80
Steel	531	200
Titanium alloy	900	105-120
Stainless steel	860	195
Chrome - Cobalt	750	225
Chrome - Nickel	570	170
Enamel	10	100
Dentin	100	20
Cortical Bone	170	20
PMMA	70	6

The overall level of reinforcement is further improved by the synergistic way the FiBER FORCE® and the acrylic/composite work together. With two materials bonded together chemically a "monoblock" is created – making the whole more resistant than the sum of its parts. This monoblock also shares and distributes loads in a more even way, as the FiBER FORCE® and the acrylic/resin have similar elastic properties. Thus the problems created when a very rigid material is simply sandwiched into the acrylic/composite are completely avoided.

Fracture Resistance

Internal data from the manufacturers of FiBER FORCE® compared the fracture resistance of unreinforced full upper dentures to those reinforced with mesh. Test results showed a 300% increase in fracture resistance with mesh reinforcement.

FiBER FORCE® dentures	238.8 MPa to 271.6 Mpa
Traditional dentures	75.2 MPa to 83.2 MPa

Comparative Fracture Resistance of Denture Acrylic repairs

One study that looked at the effect of reinforcing acrylic with E-glass FRC showed that repaired acrylic is never as strong as it was originally. Using E-glass braided fibers returned the repaired acrylic to its original strength, while using UD fibers increased the resistance of the acrylic beyond its original strength.

Repaired denture acrylic without fiber reinforcement	46.7 N
Repaired denture acrylic with woven pre-impregnated e-glass fibers	75.8 N
Control group (new denture acrylic)	78.6 N
Repaired denture acrylic with UD pre-impregnated e-glass fibers	124.4 N

Reference: Kostoulas, I., Kavoura, V., Frangou, M. & Polyzois, L. “Fracture Force, Deflection, and Toughness of Acrylic Denture Repairs Involving Glass Fiber Reinforcement”. Journal of Prosthodontics, 17(4), 257-261.