Mechanical properties and bond strength of silicone-based resilient denture liners

To evaluate the ease of manipulation and durability of 11 commercially available silicone-based resilient denture liners, extrusion force, hardness, weight change, and bond strength were determined. Extrusion force from the cartridge of each material ranged from 0.25 to 1.26 MPa at an extrusion rate of 1 cm/min. Durometer hardness, after set materials were stored in distilled water at 37 degrees C for one day, ranged from A5.9 to A47.7, and after four weeks their values increased by 4.0 to 275%. Bond strength ranged from 1.01 to 2.88 MPa after set materials were stored in distilled water at 37 degrees C for one day, but decreased to 0.59 to 1.99 MPa after 10,000 thermal cycles. These results suggested that except for one material, the rest of the evaluated materials exhibited good handling properties--for example, mixing and spreading of material can be done easily. However, some materials exhibited inadequate durability for clinical service, because hardness increased during storage and/or bond strength decreased after thermal cycling.