Title
Flexural strength and surface hardness in titanium nanoparticle-reinforced polymethyl methacrylate provisional restorative material: An in vitro study
Authors
K. Nikhil, C. Ravi Kumar*, D. Chalapathi Rao, Y. Ravi Shankar & G. Harilal
Affiliation
Department of prosthodontics, Mamata dental college, Khammam, Telangana, India; *Corresponding author
K. Nikhil - E-mail: nikhil.mithra123@gmail.com
C. Ravi Kumar - E-mail: drravismile@gmail.com
D. Chalapathi Rao - E-mail: drduggineni@gmail.com
Y. Ravi Shankar - E-mail: raviys124@gmail.com
G. Harilal - E-mail: drharilalmds@gmail.com
Article Type
Research Article
Date
Received April 1, 2026; Revised April 30, 2026; Accepted April 30, 2026, Published April 30, 2026
Abstract
Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) provisional materials often suffer from inadequate mechanical properties, particularly low flexural strength and surface hardness, limiting their durability. Therefore, it is of interest to investigate whether adding 3 wt% titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles could improve these properties in heat-cured PMMA resin. Hence, a total of 160 standardized specimens were tested for flexural strength and Vickers hardness using universal testing and micro-hardness methods. TiO₂-reinforced PMMA showed a significant increase in flexural strength (56.62 ± 1.43 to 70.65 ± 8.32 MPa) and surface hardness (23.22 ± 1.30 to 26.74 ± 1.03 VH). Incorporating 3 wt% TiO₂ notably enhances PMMA's mechanical performance, supporting its use in more demanding provisional applications.
Keywords
Provisional polymethyl methacrylate resin (PPMMAR), titanium nanoparticles, provisional restoration, flexural strength, surface hardness
Citation
Nikhil et al. Bioinformation 22(4): 2572-2577 (2026)
Edited by
Hiroj Bagde
ISSN
0973-2063
Publisher
License
This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
