The effect of denture cleansing solutions on the retention of Pink Locator® attachment: 1 year simulation.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effect of various denture cleansing solutions on retention of pink Locator® attachments after 1 year Materials and methods: Thirty-five pink Locator® attachments (3.0 lbs. Light Retention) were divided into five groups (seven specimens in each group) and soaked in different denture cleansers for 1 year. They were Polident® 5 minutes, Fittydent® , 0.12% Chlorhexidine gluconate, 1% sodium hypochlorite and tap water as control. The pink Locator® attachment was tested for load-to-dislodgement (retentive force; Newton) on a Universal Testing Machine (Model 5566, Instron Corp, Norwood, MA) in separate soaking time (before soaking, after simulated soaking for 1 month, 6 months and 1 year). The percentage of retention loss after soaking in the denture cleansers for 1 month, 6 months and 1 year were compared by groups using the Kruskal-Wallis Test and then followed by the Mann-Whitney U Test to indicate which pairs of denture cleansers were different. A p-value ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. Results: After 1 month soaking time, there was no significant difference among the cleansers (p-value > 0.05). After 6-month soaking time, the retention for attachments soaked in Fittydent® (median of % retention loss: -33.49%) and Chlorhexidine gluconate (-27.05%) were significantly higher than that soaked in tap water (3.81%). There was no significant difference among tap water, Polident® 5 minutes (-8%) and Sodium hypochlorite (-9.57%). After 1-year soaking time, the retention for attachments soaked in Sodium hypochlorite (42.58%) was significantly lower than that soaked in other solutions. The retention for attachments soaked in Fittydent® (-36.04% ) and Chlorhexidine gluconate (-29.03%) were significantly higher than that soaked in tap water (-10.15%). There was no significant difference between tap water and Polident® 5 minutes (-12.41%). Conclusion: Polident® 5 minutes had no significant effect on the retention of pink Locator® . Fittydent® and Chlorhexidine gluconate significantly increased the retention of the attachments. Sodium hypochlorite significantly decreased the retention, thus it should not be recommended as a routine denture cleanser.