IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jjopen/v8y2025i3p22-d1689740.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring Polymeric Surfaces Manufactured Under Different Temperature Conditions—A Preliminary Experimental Study of Hardness

Author

Listed:
  • Bozhana Chuchulska

    (Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Medical University of Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Mariya Dimitrova

    (Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Medical University of Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Boyan Dochev

    (Department of Mechanics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technical University of Sofia, Branch Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria)

  • Kliment Georgiev

    (Department of Mechanical and Instrument Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technical University of Sofia, Branch Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria)

Abstract

Polymers are essential materials in the fabrication of partial and complete dentures, where their mechanical properties directly impact durability, comfort, and clinical performance. This study examines the influence of different manufacturing temperatures on the surface hardness of polymeric materials used in dental applications. A total of 60 experimental samples with a rectangular shape of Vertex ThermoSens polymer (Vertex Dental, 3D Systems, Soesterberg, The Netherlands) were fabricated through injection molding at 280 °C and 300 °C and analyzed over time to assess changes in their properties. Hardness measurements, conducted using the EQUOTIP Shore D hardness tester (Proceq SA, Schwerzenbach, Canton of Zürich, Switzerland), indicated increased hardness over time, with higher values observed in samples fabricated at 300 °C. A two-way ANOVA was performed to evaluate the statistical significance of temperature and time on hardness, revealing a significant effect (F = 14.73, p = 0.0185). These findings suggest that processing polymers at elevated temperatures improves surface hardness, significant for denture longevity and patient comfort. Increased hardness contributes to greater wear resistance. Optimizing polymer manufacturing conditions can thus lead to improved clinical outcomes, ensuring more durable and biocompatible dental prostheses.

Suggested Citation

  • Bozhana Chuchulska & Mariya Dimitrova & Boyan Dochev & Kliment Georgiev, 2025. "Exploring Polymeric Surfaces Manufactured Under Different Temperature Conditions—A Preliminary Experimental Study of Hardness," J, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-13, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jjopen:v:8:y:2025:i:3:p:22-:d:1689740
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8800/8/3/22/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8800/8/3/22/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jjopen:v:8:y:2025:i:3:p:22-:d:1689740. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.