Use of the fiberglass reinforcement method in thermoplastic mouthguard materials to improve flexural properties for enhancement of functionality.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the application of fiberglass reinforcement method in thermoplastic mouthguard materials to improve flexural properties and adhesive strength. Commonly used two types of commercial mouth guard materials (ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer-based and polyolefin-based) were reinforced with glass fiber clothes by two-step hot press. Flexural strength and adhesive strength with each base material were examine via three-point bending test and delamination test, respectively. Ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer-based fiberglass-reinforced material has significantly greater adhesive strength with base material and improvement of flexural properties compared with polyolefin-based material. These results suggest that flexural properties of both conventional commercial mouthguard materials were improved when the glass-fiber-reinforced method was applied to reinforce mouthguard materials, and more, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer was more desirable for the base material.