Comparison of the physical properties of 11 soft denture liners

Soft denture liners are an important treatment option for patients who have chronic soreness associated with their prostheses. The objective of this study is to determine the tensile strength, elongation, hardness, tear strength, and tear energy of eight plasticized polymers or copolymers, two silicones, and one polyphosphazene fluoroelastomer. Tests were made on samples that were stored in a humidor for 24 hours before testing. The range of data is as follows: tensile strength, 8 to 85 kg/cm2; percent elongation, 150% to 542%; hardness, 25 to 95 Shore-A units; tear energy, 1.43 x 10(6) to 40.4 x 10(6) ergs/cm2; tear resistance, 2.6 to 26.3 kg/cm. It can be concluded that (1) the data obtained can be useful in characterizing the performance of soft denture liners, (2) there is considerable variability in the physical/mechanical properties of soft denture liners, and (3) the required essential properties for soft denture liners are as yet not known.