Integrity of the interface between denture base and soft liner: a scanning electron microscopic study

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomaterials Engineering
• Dental Prosthetics

Background:

• Denture base integrity is crucial for patient comfort and function.
• Soft liners improve denture comfort but their interface with the denture base can degrade over time.
• Understanding factors affecting this interface is vital for improving denture longevity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effect of soft liner thickness (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 mm) on the denture base-soft liner interface integrity.
• To assess the influence of an aging process on the integrity of the soft liner and denture base interface.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of 80 heat-cured acrylic resin denture base specimens with varying silicone soft liner thicknesses.
• Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis of specimens immediately after processing (Group A) and after 3 months of aging in artificial saliva at 38°C (Groups B, C, D).
• Statistical analysis using ANOVA to compare interface integrity across different groups.

Main Results:

• All aged specimens exhibited adhesive and/or cohesive failures at the interface or within the soft liner.
• A statistically significant difference in interface integrity was observed between the non-aged (Group A) and aged specimens (Groups B, C, D).
• No statistically significant differences in failure rates were found between different soft liner thicknesses or among the aged groups.

Conclusions:

• Soft liner thickness does not significantly impact the integrity of the denture base-soft liner interface.
• Aging significantly compromises the integrity of the denture base-soft liner interface, leading to material failure.
• Clinical implications suggest that the aging process is a critical factor in the degradation of soft liner performance in dentures.