The effectiveness of adhesives on the retention of mandibular free end saddle partial dentures: an in vitro study

Objectives: Existing in vitro methods for testing denture adhesives do not fully replicate the complex oral geometries and environment; and in vivo methods are qualitative, prone to bias and not easily reproducible. The purpose of this study was to develop a novel, quantitative and more accurate model to test the effect of adhesives on the retentive force of mandibular free end saddle partial dentures. Methods: An in vitro model was developed based on an anatomically accurate cast of a clinical case. Conclusions: An in vitro denture adhesive model was developed, which demonstrated that mass of adhesive plays a significant role in enhancing denture retention and supported the design principle of placing as few teeth as clinically necessary on the distal end of the free end saddles. Experimentally, the amount of adhesive was varied (0.2g-1g) and the tensile force required for displacement was measured. Different commercially available adhesives were then tested at the optimum volume using the in vitro model. A 3D finite element model of the denture was used to assess how the forces to induce denture displacement varied according to the position of the force along the saddle length. Results: The mass of adhesive was found to significantly alter retention forces, with 0.4-0.7g being the optimum range for this particular scenario. Use of adhesives significantly improved mandibular free end saddle partial denture retention with the worst performing adhesive increasing retention ninefold whilst the best performing adhesive increased retention twenty three-fold. The finite element model revealed that 77% more force was required to displace the denture by positioning forces towards the mesial end of the saddle compared to the distal end.