Abstract
To realize aesthetic othodontic wires, we have been developing the FRP wires in combination with biocompatible CaO-P2O5-SiO2-Al2O3 (CPSA) glass fibers and PMMA matrix by a hot drawing method. These wires are mainly intended to be used for the movement of teeth during the initial stage of treatment. In this study, a photo cure polymerization method was applied to form the rectangular timber with a sufficient torque force for rotation of the teeth. The FRP wire composed of CPSA glass fibers and UDMA matrix showed a sufficient flexural strength. For torsional properties, however, the wire had a much smaller torque compared with that of Co-Cr and Ni-Ti wires. The FRP using dental composite resin for matrix showed a load 4 times of UDMA based FRP wires. The torsional load was increased to 1/2 of Ni-Ti wire. It was found that the fiber content mainly contributes to flexural load while the use of stiff materials such as composite resin for the matrix is much more effective for improving torsional properties.
