Yonsei University College of Dentistry Develops New Denture Fabrication Composite Material... "Slows Aging Process and Enhances Antibacterial Properties"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] A new denture has been developed by recombining manufacturing materials to enhance durability and hygiene.

Professors Kwon Jae-sung from the Department of Dental Biomaterials Engineering and Choi Sung-hwan from the Department of Orthodontics at Yonsei University College of Dentistry, along with Professor Kenichi Kuroda from the University of Michigan, USA, announced on the 28th that they have developed dentures with reduced aging speed and increased antibacterial properties by combining the existing denture and oral device material 'polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)' with the 'PMEA' material.

Existing oral devices such as dentures and orthodontic appliances are made from PMMA material. PMMA itself has excellent strength and is biocompatible as it is harmless to the human body. However, it has low antifouling properties, causing bacteria and fungi to form biofilms on the surface of oral devices, leading to oral inflammation. Additionally, the physical removal of these biofilms causes wear on the dentures, shortening their usage period.

The research team conducted a study to maintain the advantages of PMMA while compensating for these weaknesses. As a result, they mixed PMEA (Poly 2-methoxyethyl acrylate), a material that is resistant to contamination from food and other substances, with PMMA.

The dentures produced in this way were confirmed to have excellent durability. The flexural strength, elastic modulus, and Vickers hardness?measures of how long the denture can be used without breaking or damage?were 80 MPa, 2000 MPa, and 12 kg/mm², respectively, showing almost no difference compared to dentures made solely from PMEA. Furthermore, compared to dentures made only from PMMA, the protein adsorption that causes oral inflammation was reduced by 50%, and biofilm formation decreased to about 20% of the previous levels.

Professor Kwon said, “Through this research, we created a new material by mixing PMEA with PMMA, which has been used to manufacture dentures and orthodontic appliances, resulting in a material with superior durability and antibacterial properties. We expect that this mixed material will allow dentures and orthodontic devices to be used longer and cleaner, thereby reducing side effects such as oral inflammation.”

The research results were published in the latest issue of 'Biomaterials Science' (IF 7.590), the most prestigious journal in the field of medical biomaterials. This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea and the Pan-Government Full-Cycle Medical Device R&D Project.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.