IADR Abstract Archives
Degradation of tissue conditioners in complete dentures: An in situ study
This in situ study evaluated the degradation of tissue conditioners measuring the outcome variables Shore A hardness and concentration of plasticizer phthalate over 14 days. Three tissue conditioners (Coe-Comfort, Dura Conditioner, Softone) were inserted into grooves (5x15x2 mm) in the palatal inner surface of maxillary complete dentures of nine subjects. Data were collected at baseline and after 3, 7, and 14 days. Hardness was recorded using a Shore A hardness tester, and the phthalate concentration was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry. Data were analyzed by ANOVA for repeated measures followed by Tukey test, and by simple linear regression (α=0.05). All tissue conditioners showed decrease of phthalate concentration and increase of hardness over time but the largest changes occurred in the first three days. The quantity of plasticizer was inversely related to the hardness, and 59 to 74% of the hardness variability was explained by the phthalate concentration in the material. At baseline and days 3 and 7 the hardness of Coe-Comfort was lower than those of Dura Conditioner and Softone. Coe-Comfort showed 25% decrease of phthalate concentration from baseline to day 3, which was statistically different from the other materials (reduction of 50%). No significant alteration of phthalate concentration occurred between days 3 and 7.Coe-Comfort showed better clinical performance than Dura Conditioner and Softone over 14 days.