Efficacy of denture cleansers on denture liners contaminated with Candida species

As poor denture hygiene is related to Candida colonisation, disinfectant solutions have been proposed as an effective method of preventing denture stomatitis. This study assessed the efficacy of denture cleansers on Candida albicans and Candida glabrata adherence on denture liners. Another aim was to correlate materials' surface roughness (Ra) to Candida adherence. Specimens of three denture liners (soft and hard polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)-based and soft silicone-based) were prepared and had their Ra measured. Specimens were randomly divided to adherence assays with C. albicans or C. glabrata. After contamination with the fungi, specimens were treated with an enzymatic cleanser solution, a cleanser solution or a 0.5% NaOCl solution by soaking for 3, 15 or 10 min, respectively. Control group specimens were soaked in distilled water for 15 min. Number of remaining Candida cells after treatment was determined by light microscopy (x400). Analysis of variance (alpha = 0.05) showed that Ra of the silicone-based liner was lower than that of the PMMA-based liners (p < 0.05). The overall results showed high C. glabrata adherence (p < 0.001), while the lowest levels of remaining Candida cells were found for the treatment with 0.5% NaOCl (p = 0.0019). No difference among denture cleansers and control was found (p = 0.19). There was no correlation between Ra and C. albicans or C. glabrata adherence in all materials tested. The only treatment able to reduce both Candida species adherence on all materials tested was 0.5% NaOCl solution.