[Properties of polyfluoroethylene-copolymers for the denture base lining material (author's transl)]

Silicone rubber is conventionally used as a lining soft material for denture base. However it still has some properties to be improved, such as poor adhesive strenth with acrylic resin, discoloration, degradation and growth of candida. We attempted to apply chemically-stable polyfluoroethylene-copolymers for this purpose. The terpolymers consisting of difluoroethylene, tetrafluoroethylene and chlorotrifluoroethylene (or hexafluoropropylene) were prepared and tested for tensile strenth, adhesive strength to acrylic resin, water sorption, contact angle, shore hardness, and toxicity by hemolysis test, cell culture test and extraction test. One of the selected terpolymer showed less water sorption (0.1 mg/cm2), stronger tensile strength (160 kg/cm2) and adhesive strength (110 kg/cm2) than the silicone rubber lining material. The toxicity test results suggested that the terpolymer will pose a low potential acute toxicity in vivo. All the test results seem to suggest that the polyfluoroethylene elastomer described here is a promising soft liner material for denture base.