The eff ect of thermocycling on surface microhardness of PMMA doped with graphene: an experimental in vitro study

José Antonio Hernández, Karla Daniela Mora, Ana Boquete-Castro, Sidney Kina

Introduction: Acrylic resins have been clinically utilized for many years in dental prostheses. Advancements in computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) materials and recent developments in nanotechnology have enabled the use of graphene as reinforcement phase in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) for CAD/CAM restorations with promising results. Material and Methods: 96 samples from monochrome G-CAM discs (G-MONO) and multichrome G-CAM discs (G-MULTI) were equally divided into 4 groups (n = 24): group 1 (G-MONOc) and group 2 (G-MULTIc) served as a control and was not thermocycled, group 3 (G-MONOt) and group 4 (G-MULTIt) were subjected to thermocycling. Measurements were made using a digital Shore A durometer and values were statistically analyzed using 1-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test. Results: The results were very similar for G-MONO thermocycled and not thermocycled; the one-way ANOVA revealed no significant differences between group 1 (G-MONOc) and group 3 (G-MONOt) and between group 2 (G-MULTIc) and group 4 (G-MULTIt). All paired Tukey test comparisons were also not significantly different (α < 0.05). Conclusions: CAD/CAM poly (metilmethacrylate) PMMA doped with graphene has successfully passed the aging process based on 10,000 thermal cycles maintaining its surface microhardness values. Maintaining the surface microhardness will allow less wear and greater longevity of the restoration, which opens up the possibility of using PMMA doped with graphene in permanent restorations. Further investigations are needed to establish mechanical properties of PMMA doped with graphene.

Keywords: Graphene. PMMA resin. Computer-aided design. Thermocycling.

How to cite: Hernández JA, Mora KD, Boquete-Castro A, Kina S. The effect of thermocycling on surface microhardness of PMMA doped with graphene: an experimental in vitro study. J Clin Dent Res. 2020 Sept-Dec;17(3):152-61.

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