Comparative Evaluation of Bond Strength of Surface-treated and Surface-modified Anterior Acrylic Teeth

Harold Vernon first introduced acrylic polymers as denture base materials in 1937. A survey showed that 33% of denture repairs were to restore debonded teeth.1 Factors that affect the bonding of acrylic resin teeth to the denture base are dewaxing procedures, residual wax on ridge laps of teeth,2 and careless application separating media like sodium alginate to the teeth, leading to contamination of the ridge lap surface.3 However, attempts to increase the strength of the bond between acrylic resin teeth and heat cured denture base resin include4,5: • Grinding glossy ridge lap surface of resin teeth. • Painting ridge lap surface of teeth with chemical solutions. • Cutting retention grooves on ridge lap surface of teeth. • Use of detergent solution on ridge lap surface of teeth. The most common tooth to debond is maxillary central incisor.4 Chung6 stated creation of micromechanical aids, such as sandblasting, to ridge lap area increases bond strength between acrylic denture teeth and heat cure denture base. Takahashhi et al7 advocated use of chemical solvents, such as dichloromethane to increase bond strength between acrylic teeth and heat cure denture base.