Comparison of Stress Distributions of Dental Woven and Unidirectional Fiber-Reinforced Composite Crowns Under Different Loadings

The aim of this numerical study was to investigate and compare the stresses occurring in dental woven and unidirectional experimental fiber-reinforced composite (FRC) crowns under different thermal and singular force loading conditions. For this reason, finite element models of FRC crown and tooth systems were performed by using the ANSYS program. Stress analyses of the models were carried out under thermal loading conditions heated from 37 to 55°C, cooled from 37 to 5°C, and 450 N singular force loading conditions at different angles. The results indicated that high stresses occurred in both woven and unidirectional FRC crowns under horizontal loadings because of bending moment. Thermal stresses exhibited small values that did not cause any damage. It can also be concluded that since the stress component of σ z in the woven type FRC was smaller than that of unidirectional type FRC, use of the woven FRC might be beneficial in comparison with the unidirectional composite.