Candida albicans biofilm formation on soft denture liners and efficacy of cleaning protocols

The aim of this study was to investigate Candida albicans biofilm formation on denture liners and to analyse the efficacy of cleaning protocols.

Specimens were prepared from four silicone-based soft denture liners. After artificial ageing and surface free energy determination, specimens were incubated with saliva (2 h) and Candida albicans ATCC 10231 for either short- (2.5 h) or long-term (24 h) biofilm formation. Adherent cells were determined either after incubation of specimens with Candida albicans or after treatment with different denture cleaning protocols. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way anova and the Games-Howell test (α = 0.05).

For both short- and long-term biofilm formation, similar amounts of Candida albicans cells were found on the surface of the different liners (p = 0.295 and 0.178, respectively). For both short- and long-term biofilm formation, the highest cleaning efficacy was observed for sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl; p < 0.01). The efficacy of the chemical denture cleaner in removing long-term Candida albicans biofilms was significantly lower than the efficacy of removal by brushing (p < 0.001).

Different silicone-based soft denture liners yield similar Candida albicans biofilm formation on their surface. The highest efficacy for the removal of Candida albicans biofilms was identified for NaOCl. Chemical denture cleaners appear to have rather low efficacy to remove mature Candida albicans biofilms.