Wettability of denture materials

Objective: To promote denture retention and denture comfort, denture materials should possess adequate wettability. This in vitro study investigated the wettability of nine commercially available dental materials. Method and materials: Four denture base materials, two denture hard lining materials, and three denture soft lining materials (with and without varnish treatment) were tested. The wettability measurements were made using the dynamic contact angle analysis technique. The equilibrium and hysteresis angles obtained were used for the comparisons. Results: The equilibrium contact angle ([theta]e) ranged from 63.9 (Permaflex + varnish) to 81.0 degrees (Mollosil + varnish). The differences observed among the materials tested were statistically significant. The contact angle hysteresis ranged from 16.0 (SR 3/60 Triplex) to 51.2 degrees (Mollosil), and there was a statistically significant difference among the materials. Conclusion: The heat-polymerized soft lining materials exhibited the greatest equilibrium contact angle, the autopolymerized soft liner had the lowest value, and the denture base materials had intermediate values. The soft liners showed greater contact angle hysteresis than all other materials. The use of varnish altered the wetting characteristics.