Bond Strength of Six Soft Denture Liners Processed Against Polymerized and Unpolymerized Poly(methyl Methacrylate)

The bond strength of six commercial soft denture liners was evaluated by a two-phase tensile test. The soft denture liners investigated were VinaSoft, Prolastic, Flexor, Molloplast-B, Novus, and SuperSoft. The samples were fabricated by processing them (1) against polymerized poly(methyl methacrylate), and (2) against unpolymerized poly(methyl methacrylate). The soft denture liners were processed according to the manufacturers' recommendations. The samples were tested using an Instron Universal Testing Machine. The mode of failure, adhesive or cohesive, was also recorded. The bond strength when processed against unpolymerized poly(methyl methacrylate) ranged from 0.48 to 2.60 MPa, and when processed against polymerized poly(methyl methacrylate) the bond strength ranged from 0.94 to 2.56 MPa. A two-way analysis of variance (P = .05) revealed a significant increase in bond strength when the liners were processed against polymerized poly(methyl methacrylate), except for Novus, which had no change, and VinaSoft, which decreased. The Tukey interval between materials was .22 and between methods of polymerization was .08. Four of the six liners investigated demonstrated increased bond strength when processed against polymerized poly(methyl methacrylate). It was concluded that bonding can be influenced by the processing method.