INFLUENCE OF FILLING MATERIALS OF DENTURE BASE BY SILVER NANOPARTICLES ON THEIR TRIBOLOGICAL PROPERTIES

The aim of the present work is to reduce the voltage generated from the sliding of the denture base made of PMMA. Because PMMA is actively electrostatically charged during attrition with food and teeth, the generated voltage can harmfully influence the health of human beings. In the present study, PMMA was filled by silver nanoparticles to develop its electrical conductivity to mitigate the voltage generated from friction. Tribological tests have been carried out to measure the voltage generated from the dry and water wet sliding on abrasive paper. Besides, friction coefficient and wear have been evaluated. Based on the experimental observations, it was revealed that wear of the tested composites at dry sliding decreased as the silver content increased because silver nanoparticles coated the tips of abrasive particles and made the abrasive particles less abrasive. At water wet sliding, wear drastically displayed relatively higher values than that observed at dry sliding. Friction coefficient displayed the maximum value at 0.4 wt. % silver content. Finally, as silver content increased, voltage decreased. Besides, water wet sliding displayed lower voltage values. It can be concluded that filling PMMA by 0.4 wt. % silver nanoparticles, the lowest values of the generated voltage can be observed.