Temporary Soft Denture Liner Containing Antimicrobial Agents: Biocompatibility In Vivo

Objectives: This study evaluated in rat model, by histopathological descriptive and quantitative analysis, the in vivo biocompatibility of a temporary soft denture liner (Trusoft) modified by the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of antimicrobial agent (chlorhexidine diacetate) and polyene antifungal (Nystatin) for Candida albicans biofilm.
Methods: The intraoral acrylic devices adjusted to the palatal mucosa and capable of relining were made from the individual maxillary impression of each rat. Twenty five male Wistar rats were divided into five groups (n=5): Negative Control: without devices; Positive Control: devices relined with Trusoft without the addition of drugs; Overall Control: devices without relining; Nystatin: devices relined with Trusoft containing 0.032g/mL of nystatin; Chlorhexidine: devices relined with Trusoft containing 0.064g/mL of chlorhexidine diacetate. For histopathological analysis, the animals were sacrificed after 7 days after using (or not) the intra-oral devices. The histopathological descriptive analysis was performed by visual comparison in optical microscope of the photomicrographs of histological sections, transversely covering the inter-molar region. The quantitative analysis of the possible morphological changes in the epithelium and keratin were measured by computerized planimetry (AxioVision Rel 4.8.2) with mensuration of 9 variables. Quantitative data were analyzed statistically by 2-way ANOVA (α=0.05).
Results: A simple visual comparison of the photomicrographs obtained from the descriptive histopathological analysis suggested the absence of an inflammatory infiltrate in all the groups tested for both periods. The quantitative analysis showed that no statistically significant differences were observed among the study groups for all studied variables (P>.05).
Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study and based on the results of histopathological descriptive and quantitative analysis, the incorporation of the MICs of nystatin and chlorhexidine diacetate in Trusoft caused no histopathological changes in the palatal mucosa of rats, suggesting the in vivo biocompatibility of this protocol recommended for treatment of denture stomatitis.