Morphological Alteration of Microwave Disinfected Acrylic Resins used for Dental Prostheses

In this paper we aim to perform a cross section morphological characterization of an acrylic polymer used for dental prostheses subjected to microwave disinfection. The method was largely investigated and the microbiological effectiveness is well established, but there are some issues regarding the in-depth alteration of the material. In our research, the surface roughness is insignificant and the samples were not polished or refined by any means. Two groups of 7 acrylic discs (20 mm diameter, 2 mm thickness) were prepared from a heat-cured powder. Half of the samples embedded a stainless steel reinforcement, in order to observe the changes at the interfaces between the polymer and metallic wire. After the gradual wet microwave treatment, the specimens - including the controls - were frozen in liquid nitrogen and broken into pieces. Fragments were selected for gold metallization to ensure a good contrast for SEM imaging. We examined the samples in cross section employing a high resolution SEM. We have observed the alterations occurred at the surface of the acrylic sample and at the interface with the metallic wire along with the increase of the power and exposure time. The bond configuration of acrylate samples was analysed by FTIR spectrometry.