Towards Green Dentistry: Evaluating the Potential of 4D Printing for Sustainable Orthodontic Aligners with a Reduced Carbon Footprint.

Clear aligners have transformed orthodontic care by providing an aesthetic, removable alternative to traditional braces. However, their significant environmental footprint, contributing to approximately 15,000 tons of plastic waste annually, poses a critical challenge. To address this issue, advancements in 4D printing have introduced "smart" aligners with shape memory properties, enabling reshaping and reducing the number of aligners required per treatment.

Compression Molding of Low-Density Polyethylene Matrix/Glass-Fiber-Reinforced Thick Laminates.

Thermoplastic fiberglass was compression molded in the form of thick panels with a nominal thickness of 10 mm and a size of 300 × 300 mm. A simplified procedure was adopted to speed up the lamination procedure and adapt it to the aim of recycling waste, glass fibers, fabrics, and thermoplastic films. Low density polyethylene was used as a matrix to simplify the laboratory process, but the same procedure can be extended to other thermoplastic film, such as polyamide.

Friction and wear behavior of a mechanical oscillating strip system used for interproximal enamel reduction: a quantitative and qualitative scanning electronic microscope evaluation.

Objectives: To evaluate wear and friction properties of oscillating strips in order to validate the importance of a standardized interproximal enamel reduction (IPR) sequence to preserve their efficiency and lifetime.

Materials And Methods: Fifteen complete oscillating IPR sequences were tested by means of tribological tests (Linear Reciprocating Tribometer, C.S.

Cytotoxicity and Antibiofilm Activity of Silver-Polypropylene Nanocomposites.

The development of biocompatible nanomaterials that interface with human skin and tissue is critical for advancing prosthetics and other therapeutic medical needs. In this perspective, the development of nanoparticles with cytotoxicity and antibiofilm properties and biocompatibility characteristics are important. Metallic silver (Ag) exhibits good biocompatibility, but it is often challenging to integrate it into a nanocomposite without compromising its antibiofilm properties for optimal applications.

Light-curing process for clear aligners' attachment reproduction: comparison between two nanocomposites cured by the auxiliary of a new tool.

Background: Attachments' configuration play an important role during Clear Aligner Treatment (CAT) for aligner retention and control of movements planned. The aims were to compare the macroscopic morphology of attachments reproduced with flowable (FNC) and conventional (CNC) composites and the effects on them of two light-guide tips with different dimensions.

Methods: 4 resin casts derived from the initial scan of the same patient were obtained.

Nanoindentation of Multifunctional Smart Composites.

Three multifunctional smart composites for next-generation applications have been studied differently through versatile nanoindentation investigation techniques. They are used in order to determine peculiarities and specific properties for the different composites and to study the charge/matrix, charge/surface, or smart functions interactions. At first, a mapping indentation test was used to check the distribution of hardness and modulus across a large region to examine any non-uniformity due to structural anomalies or changes in properties for a carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-reinforced polypropylene (PP V-2) nanocomposite.

Testing the Dispersion of Nanoparticles in a Nanocomposite with an Ultra-Low Fill Content Using a Novel Non-Destructive Evaluation Technique.

A non-destructive evaluation (NDE) technique capable of testing the dispersion of nanoparticles in a nanocomposite would be of great use to the industry to check the quality of the products made and to ensure compliance with their specifications. Very few NDE techniques found in the literature can evaluate the level of dispersion of the nanoparticles in the whole nanocomposite. Here, a recently developed NDE technique based on pulsed phase thermography (PPT) in transmission mode was used to assess the particle dispersion in ultra-low, less than 0.

Shape Memory Composite Sandwich Structures with Self-Healing Properties.

In this study, Polyurea/Formaldehyde (PUF) microcapsules containing Dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) as a healing substance were fabricated in situ and mixed at relatively low concentrations (<2 wt%) with a thermosetting polyurethane (PU) foam used in turn as the core of a sandwich structure. The shape memory (SM) effect depended on the combination of the behavior of the PU foam core and the shape memory polymer composite (SMPC) laminate skins. SMPC laminates were manufactured by moulding commercial carbon fiber-reinforced (CFR) prepregs with a SM polymer interlayer.

Biomechanical properties and histomorphometric features of aortic tissue in patients with or without bicuspid aortic valve.

Background: We sought to investigate and compare biomechanical properties and histomorphometric findings of thoracic ascending aorta aneurysm (TAA) tissue from patients with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) and tricuspid aortic valve (TAV) in order to clarify mechanisms underlying differences in the clinical course.

Methods: Circumferential sections of TAA tissue in patients with BAV (BAV-TAA) and TAV (TAV-TAA) were obtained during surgery and used for biomechanical tests and histomorphometrical analysis.

Results: In BAV-TAA, we observed biomechanical higher peak stress and lower Young modulus values compared with TAV-TAA wall.

Shape Memory Behavior of PET Foams.

Shape memory properties of PET (polyethylene-terephthalate) foams have been evaluated for two different foam densities. Samples were subjected to multiple memory-recovery cycles along three different directions to measure the effect of foam anisotropy on static mechanical and shape memory properties. The memory cycle was performed by uniaxial compression tests at room temperature.

Mechanical qualification of collagen membranes used in dentistry.

Aim: The aim of this work is the qualification of commercially available collagen membranes in a comparative manner. The natural origin of collagen makes standardization difficult. Nevertheless, through dimensional and mechanical measures it is possible to mechanically qualify collagen membranes, and compare them.