Purpose: This study analyzed the conventional method of rebonding a denture tooth, evaluating the effect of varied thickness of autopolymerizing acrylic resin on the bond strength and the failure mode.
Materials and methods: A total of 52 heat-polymerizing acrylic resin specimens were fabricated with an anterior denture tooth. A cantilever-type bending force was applied with a universal testing machine to each specimen until failure. The failure mode was determined, and cohesive failures were excluded from part II. Thirty specimens were randomly selected and divided into three groups (n = 10). For each group, resin was relieved from the bonding area to create a 0, 1, or 3 mm space. The tooth was repositioned using its matrix and reattached to its base, filling the relieved space with autopolymerizing acrylic resin. The repaired specimens were tested using the same parameters. Data were analyzed with paired t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and post hoc test. Statistical significance was determined at p < 0.05.
Results: The mean peak load to failure for the part I group was 88.91 N. While the peak load to failure decreased to 71.96 N (19.69% loss of original bond strength), statistical analysis revealed no difference between the bond strength of the specimens repaired with a 0 mm thickness of autopolymerizing acrylic resin and the original (part I) group (p > 0.05). The bond strength was lower for the group repaired with a 1 mm thickness compared to the original (part I) group (p < 0.05), with 65.8 N load to failure (29.63% loss). The bond strength was even lower for the group repaired with a 3 mm thickness (p < 0.05), with 58.64 N load to failure (33.07% loss). Post hoc analysis revealed a significant difference between the 0 and 3 mm groups (p = 0.04). The most common failure mode in the original group was adhesive (56%), then combination (34%), then cohesive (9.8%). The repaired group (n = 30) had similar results, with 56.7% adhesive, 36.7% combination, and 6.7% cohesive failures.
Conclusions: The bond strength of a replaced denture tooth is affected by the thickness of the autopolymerizing acrylic resin. The failure mode of a rebonded denture tooth follows the same trend of the original failure. If possible, replace teeth with no relief. If combination failure occurs, leave residual base acrylic resin on the ridge lap.
Keywords: PMMA; Poly(methyl methacrylate); bonding; removable.
© 2014 by the American College of Prosthodontists.