EFFECT OF CHEMICAL CLEANSERS ON THE SURFACE HARDNESS OF ACRYLIC DENTURE TEETH

Aim: the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of three chemical denture cleansers on the knoop hardness of the acrylic denture teeth. material and method: premolar and molar acrylic denture teeth from two manufacturers were embedded in cold cured acrylic resin. the occlusal surfaces of teeth were flat grounded and polished. the specimens were randomly divided into 4 groups and immersed in three different chemical disinfection (protefix, corega tabs and %1 naocl) and distilled water (control group) for 8 hours/day during 7 days. the specimens were submitted to knoop hardness measurements immediately after disinfection procedures. data were analyzed with one way anova and tukey’s statistical test. result: all vitapan group exhibited higher knoop hardness values than major dent groups both in control and experimental groups. the tested chemical denture cleaning methods did not show any significant effect on knoop hardness of the artificial teeth. conclusion: within the limitations of this study it can be concluded that exposure of artificial teeth to chemical disinfectants did not affect the hardness of the acrylic teeth.