POSSIBLE ERRORS IN ACRYLIC DENTURE FABRICATION LEADING TO TEETH-DENTURE BASE INTERFACE FAILURE

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the processing related errors accountable for teeth-den­ture base interface failure and to identify the popular materials and techniques used for denture fabrication. In six months this cross-sectional survey was accomplished to target population pool of fifty-eight prosthodontic technicians in twelve dental colleges, in five cities of Pakistan. Collection of the demographic data of the participants was followed by some technical questions to identify the possible errors accountable for teeth-denture base interface failure like the type of teeth and denture base materials used; chemical/mechanical modifications of ridge lap surface area (RLSA) of teeth; the presence of possible contaminants at the RLSA of acrylic teeth and their effective removal and some questions regarding acrylic denture packing and curing stages to assess technician’s expertise. Live or telephonic interviews were conducted as per convenience by two dentists. Collected data was analyzed and interpreted using SPSS version 22. Majority of the dental technicians (91.4%) were qualified and preferred conventional acrylic teeth (91.4%) and heat cured acrylic resin (71.1%) for acrylic denture fabrication. To ensure effective bonding of teeth to the denture bases, wax elimination from teeth was ensured mostly via boiling water (98.3%) and the RLSA of teeth was modified with locking grooves (82.8%) and monomer wetting (79.3%). Boiling water (98.3%) was reported to ensure complete wax removal from acrylic teeth, most of the dental technicians used dental bench press (93.1%) for acrylic dough packing and long denture curing cycles with terminal boil.