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Updated: Mar 2, 2026
2-Methacryloyloxyethyl Phosphorylcholine Polymer Treatment of Complete Dentures to Inhibit Denture Plaque Deposition
Published on: December 26, 2016
Inhibition of denture plaque deposition on complete dentures by 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine polymer
Kenji Ikeya1, Fuminori Iwasa2, Yuuki Inoue3
1Predoctoral student, Department of Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan.
Statement Of Problem:
Denture plaque-associated infections are regarded as a source of serious dental and medical complications in the elderly population. Methods of managing this problem are needed.
Purpose:
The purpose of this clinical study was to evaluate the effects of treatment with a 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine polymer, PMBPAz, on plaque deposition in complete dentures.
Material And Methods:
The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Showa University (#2013-013). Eleven individuals with maxillary complete dentures participated in this study. Their dentures were treated with PMBPAz, and the amount of denture plaque accumulation was evaluated by staining the denture surfaces with methylene blue after 2 weeks of denture usage. The same procedures were repeated to evaluate the original denture surfaces as a control. The image of the stained denture surface was captured using a digital camera, and the percentage of stained area, quantified as a pixel-based density, of the whole denture area (percentage of plaque index) was calculated for the mucosal and polished surfaces. To quantify the biofilm on the dentures, denture plaque biofilm was detached by ultrasonic vibration, resuspended in diluent, and measured with a microplate reader at an optical density of 620 nm. The effects of PMBPAz treatment on these variables were statistically analyzed with ANOVA (α=.05).
Results:
The mean ±SD percentage of plaque index was 40.7% ±19.9% on the mucosal surfaces and 28.0% ±16.8% on the polished surfaces of the control denture. The mean percentage of plaque index of PMBPAz-treated dentures significantly decreased to 17.4%% ±12.0% on the mucosal surfaces (P<.001) and 15.0% ±9.9% on the polished surfaces (P<.05). The quantification of plaque deposition agreed with the results of these image analyses.
Conclusions:
These results demonstrated the effectiveness of the treatment with the PMBPAz to inhibit the bacterial plaque deposition on complete dentures.
