Evaluation of various denture cleansers on color stability and surface topography of polyetherketoneketone, polyamide, and polymethylmethacrylate.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of sodium perborate effervescent tablets and citric acid solution on the color stability and surface topography of a new generation of high-performance polymer polyetherketoneketone (PEKK), thermoinjection-molded polyamide, and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). Fifty disc-shaped specimens were fabricated (10 mm × 2 mm) from PEKK (P group), polyamide (D group), and PMMA (M group). These groups were divided into five subgroups (n = 10) according to the storage media. The test groups were immersed in the following solutions: distilled water (Control), Corega, Protefix, Perlodent, and Curaprox. The color stability values (ΔE) were measured using a spectrophotometer before and after immersion in distilled water and four different denture cleansers for 8 hr/day for 140 days. Topography alterations after treatments were assessed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Tukey's Honest Significant Difference test. The p < .05 was considered significant. All denture cleansers increased the ΔE values relative to the baseline values in the M, D, and P groups (p < .05). The Perlodent denture cleanser demonstrated the highest ΔE value in all groups, which was unacceptable. Curaprox denture cleanser showed the lowest ΔE value in the M and D groups (p < .05). Curaprox in all groups showed a ∆E value less than 3.7. For patients who have PEKK- and polyamide-based prosthesis, the use of citric acid-based cleansers may be more recommended than sodium perborate-containing cleansers because of its clinically acceptable color changes on polymers in terms of color stability.