Degradability and Mechanical Properties of polymer denture frameworks

Metal-free dentistry is a common target for many dental practice centers all-over the world, as many reviews and research papers have documented the poor biocompatibility of many metal alloys, which are used in dentistry as: amalgam, nickel chromium, etc...., due leaching of degradation and corrosion products.Accordingly many dentists have substituted metal alloys with high performance polymers in their practice, but the most important questions still exist, are those polymers completely free from any health hazards?, can they perform mechanically as metal alloys?, are they completely bioinert?.In this book we are going to explore the degradation behavior and some mechanical properties of two types of thermoplastic polymers (PEEK composite and machined acetal), and compare them with the conventional Cobalt Chromium alloys, which is used as partial dentures’ frameworks for decades.