A Comparative Analysis of Retention of Denture Bases without and after Surface Treatment of Basal Surface with Different Sizes of Alumina Particles – an in Vivo Study

Objective: The objective of the present study was to evaluate effect of roughness of the basal surface and increase in its surface area on retention of maxillary denture bases, and compare the retention of the denture bases after surface treatment with different sizes of alumina particles. Materials and Methods: Twenty healthy subjects with edentulous maxillary ridge and good oral hygiene were selected as a part of this study. After duplication of master cast three acrylic resin denture bases were fabricated for each subject. A specially designed retention apparatus consisting compact force gauge was used to measure retention values of these denture bases. Retention values for the first denture base were measured without air abrasion (sandblasting), whereas retention values for second and third denture bases were measured after air abrasion of the basal surface with 50μ and 100μ alumina grit sand. Results: There was a significant increase in retention values (p<0.05) of the denture bases after air abrasion of basal surface with 50μ and 100μ alumina grit sand in comparison to the retention of the denture bases without air abrasion. Although the denture bases air abraded with 100μ alumina showed improvement in retention when compared to the denture bases air abraded with 50μ alumina, this improvement was statistically non significant (p>0.05). Conclusion: Air abrading the basal surface significantly improved retention of the denture bases. Further studies are required to evaluate retention of denture bases following air abrasion with different particle sizes.