A Three-year Clinical Evaluation of a Silicone Soft Liner

Denture soft liners provide a valuable service for select denture-wearing patients. However, soft liners have historically showed poor long-term success. Objective: This study evaluated the long-term efficacy of a silicone soft liner (Sofreliner MS, Tokuyama) after 3 years of service. Methods: Characteristics of 10 relines on 7 patients were evaluated by patients and investigators as excellent (4), good (3), fair (2), or poor (1). Results: The majority of the soft liner characteristics at three years had an "excellent" rating (between 3.75 and 4). The following characteristics were rated: surface roughness, (3.75); resiliency, (3.98); surface condition, (3.73); adhesion, (3.48); cracking, (3.85); mucosal condition, (3.98); stain, (3.83); odor, (4); Candida Albicans, (3.50); separation, (3.48); and discoloration, (3.80). It is interesting to note that the ratings for eight characteristics increased rather than decreased from the second year to the third year. This was primarily because the three patients that did not continue after two years had lower ratings. A comparison of the 2 and 3 year findings of the eight characteristics shows these noted increases: surface roughness, (3.63/3.75); stain, (3.77/3.83); discoloration, (3.50/3.80); resiliency,(3.75/3.98); surface condition, (3.38/3.73); adhesion,(3.16/3.48); mucosal condition, (3.87/3.98); total evaluation of the dentist, (3.38/3.75); and patient satisfaction, (3.41/3.75). At the end of the three years 7 subjects rated their overall satisfaction as excellent (3.75). There was no significant difference between day one and the 3-year evaluations of these 7 patients (ANOVA, p<0.05). However, a comparison of characteristics prior to relining and 3 years after relining showed significant differences for the characteristics of adaptation, (2.07±1.00m 3,63±0.49); mucosal condition, (3.00±0.67, 3.98±0.08); and patients satisfaction, (1.87±0.92, 3.75±0.31) (ANOVA, p<0.05). Conclusions: This study found essentially no differences between the soft liner characteristics at three years and the results reported at one year and two years. (Supported by Tokuyama)