| Summary: | Fiber reinforced composites (FRCs) are material made of plastic matrix reinforced by fibers and coupling agent as a binder. Application of FRCs in the oral cavity affected by interaction between FRCs and various pH of saliva, one of which can be acidic. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of acidic pH on tensile strength of UHMWPE fibers.
Specimens used in this research were dog-bone shaped FRC with UHMWPE fibers with a size of 32 mm x 10 mm x 2 mm. All specimens were cured with light curing unit in 20 seconds. Specimens were divided into three groups and soaked in the artificial saliva with pH 5.5, 4.5, and 2.5 (n=4). Specimens were incubated for 7 days in 37oC temperature. The tensile strength was measured with universal testing machine with 3 mm/minutes crosshead speed. Values of tensile strength were tested using One Way ANOVA and LSD0.05 test.
The results of this research showed an average tensile strength of the soaking group of pH 5.5, 4.5, and 2.5 were 1.45±0.05 MPa, 1.14±0.29 MPa, and 0.6±0.07 MPa. ANOVA analysis revealed there was significant effect of acidic pH on the tensile strength of fiber reinforced composite (p<0.05). LSD0.05 test showed significant mean difference of tensile strength between treatment groups (p<0.05). The conclusion of this research was the acidic pH with variation 2.5 to 5.5 had significant influence on the decrease of tensile strength of FRC with UHMWPE fibers.
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