Comparative study of wettability of different lining, tissue conditioning and denture base materials (in-vitro study)

Abstract

Background: Wettability of denture base and denture relining materials is one of the most important properties for denture retention, because it provides a condition in which saliva will spread over the surfaces with ease. Contact angle has been highlighted as the most important parameter concerning wettability of materials. This angle is characteristic of the substances due to the surface tension of the liquid and the surface energy of the solid Materials and methods: One hundred and twenty specimens were prepared in six major groups (light cure acrylic, hot cure acrylic, flexible acrylic, soft liner, hard liner and tissue conditioner) with dimension of (25mm X 25mm X4mm) each group consists from 20 specimens. The wettability was measured using digital microscope and the retention force was measured using specially designed equipment. Results: The results obtained in the present study showed that there is a highly significant difference on the contact angle between different materials, different type of fluids (distilled water and synthetic saliva). The contact angle value of light cure acrylic is smaller than heat-cure acrylic, tissue conditioner, hard liner, flexible acrylic and soft liner respectively; it was greater for synthetic saliva than those for distilled water, Conclusion: In conclusion, Light cure acrylic had the best wettability followed by hot cure acrylic and tissue conditioner respectively. There is an effect of the viscosity on the contact angle, and the contact angle has an effect on the retention force. When the contact angle value was small the surface retention was higher than when these angles were large.