Durability Studies for Complete Dentures

The complete dentures are realized by different acrylic resins and different technologies. These materials are fragile and frequently appear crack and fractures of these dentures. Also, theses materials as well as the technologies of performing these dentures are expensive. In order to avoid the ultimate failure of the complete dentures, for each case there is necessary a numerical simulation as a preliminary stage before the effective performance of the denture. In order to realize the numerical simulation of the complete denture there is necessary to know the mechanical and elastic properties of the acrylic resins. This paper presents the results of experimental investigations performed in order to determine the mechanical and elastic properties of complete denture materials. A 3D laser scanner was used for the elaboration of the geometrical model of the complete dentures. In this way, using the reverse engineering technology there was realized a very accurate geometrical model. Finite element analysis was used to estimate the durability of the same complete dentures. The calculation model was finally validated by a fatigue experimental test.