DENTURE BASES

The denture base is that

part of the denture which
rests on the tissues and
carries the artificial teeth.
 Functions

• Support & retain denture teeth

• Stress distribution
• Improve esthetics
 Requirements of denture
base materials
 1. Strength and durability
 2. Satisfactory thermal properties
 3. Processing accuracy and dimensional stability
 4. Chemical stability (unprocessed as well as processed
material)
 5. Insolubility in and low sorption of oral fluids
 6. Absence of taste and odor
 7. Biocompatible
 8. Natural appearance
 9. Color stability
 10. Adhesion to plastics, metals, and porcelain teeth
 11. Ease of fabrication and repair
 12. Moderate cost
 Different denture base
materials
 Material
I. Non-Metallic
1. Heat-cured Polymethyl methacrylate
(PMMA)
2. Self-Cure (PMMA)
3. Light cure (PMMA)
4. Pour-type denture base resin (fluid
resin), chemical cure
5. High-impact strength material
(rubber-reinforced), heat cure
6. Rapid-heat polymerized acrylic,
7. Hydrophilic Polyacrylate.
8. Soft acrylic.
Character
Advantages
1.Color matches gingival tissues
2. Easy constructed & repaired
3. Easy to be finished & polished
4. Easy to reline
5. Light in weight
6. Not expensive
Disadvantages
1. Moderate mechanical properties
2. Could be scratched
3. Do not transmit heat
4. May cause allergy to the patient
5. Crazing & bleaching may occur
6. Bacterial & fungal colonization may
occur
 Material
II. Metallic materials
1. Cast gold alloys
2. Cast cobalt-chromium
3. Cast titanium & titanium alloy
4. Swaged stainless-steel
Character
Advantages
1. High mechanical properties
2. Could not be scratched
3. Transmit heat
4. Minimal allergy to the patient
5. Crazing not occur
6. Minimal bacterial & fungal
colonization
Disadvantages
1. Color not matches gingival tissues
2. Not easy constructed & repaired
3. Not easy to be finished & polished
4. Not easy to reline
5. Heavy in weight
6. Relatively expensive
7. Corrosion may occur
Heat-cured acrylic denture
base
 Physical form and composition
 Denture base plastics are commonly
supplied in a powder-liquid form
Principle ingredient of acrylic denture base
1. Heat-cured polymethyl methacrylate
a. Powder

Pre polymerized polymethyl methacrylate in the form of

small beads.

Initiator: benzoyl peroxide.

Plasticizers: dibutyl phthalate to soften the material and make

it more flexible.
Pigments: various tissue like shades.

Acrylic fibers: simulate the minute blood vessels.

Glass fibers: to increase the stiffness.

Barium salts: improve the radiopacity of the polymer.

b. Liquid (present in dark glass bottle)

Monomer: methyl methacrylate.

Inhibitor: to prevent premature polymerization which is

hydroquinone.

Cross-linkage agent: glycol dimethacrylate to decrease

the solubility and water sorption and increase the

resistance to minute surface cracking or crazing.

Denture base construction using compression
molding technique

1. Flasking procedure

2. Wax elimination

3. Proportioning and mixing

Polymer / Monomer ratio

•The proportion of polymer to monomer is 3:1 by volume and

2:1 by weight.

• The powder and liquid are mixed with stainless steel spatula
and kept in a sealed glass jar during the initial stages of reaction
to avoid the loss of the monomer by evaporation. A plastic mass
is produced after mixing.
On standing this workable mass pass
through five stage:
1. Sandy stage
The polymer gradually settles into the monomer and a
some what fluid incoherent mass is formed which is
grainy.

2. Stringy or sticky stage

The monomer attaches the surface of the polymer beads.
This stage is characterized by a stringiness and
adhesiveness if the mixture is touched or pulled apart.
3. Dough stage
The monomer diffuses into the polymer gradually and the mass
becomes more saturated with polymer in solution, it becomes
smooth and dough like. It is no longer tacky and does not adhere to
the wall of the mixing jar.

4. Rubbery stages
The monomer disappears by evaporation and by further
penetration into the polymer. The mass becomes more
cohesive and rubber like.

5. Stiff stage
Evaporation of free monomer.
During the various stages, the reaction is physical in
nature and include solution of polymer in monomer and
some absorption of monomer by the polymer as well as
wetting of the polymer particles.

4. Packing

5. Trial closure

6. Curing
Curing
The curing cycle described the heating processes employed to control
polymerization reaction of the dough, to transform methyl methacrylate
to polymethyl methacrylate.

Curing cycles are divided into 2 main groups:

1. Short curing cycle (about 2.5 hours)

Put the flask in a water bath and increase the temperature gradually from

room temperature to 65 ᵒC within 30 minutes and keep at 75 ᵒC for

one and half hour, then keep at boiling for 30 minutes.
2. Long curing cycle (about 9 hours)

Put the flask in a water bath, then the temperature is raised gradually to 65 ᵒC
within 30 minutes, then the temperature is raised to 80 ᵒC
within 8 hours and kept at boiling for 30 minutes. Usually long curing
cycle is used for curing bulky prosthetic appliance.
Importance of the boiling stage
•It is important to reduce the level of residual monomer in
the finished denture,
•to complete polymerization
•to reduce the allergic effect of residual monomer.
Excessive boiling is contraindicated as the resin becomes
brittle and easily broken.

7. Deflasking and finishing

8. Polishing
Steps of the polymerization reaction:
1. Initiation
2. Propagation
3. Termination
Direct coupling or by chain transfer
Defects which may occur during processing of
heat-cured polymethyl methacrylate:
A. Porosity

B. Crazing

C. Warpage
A. Porosity
Small voids which may be present internally or externally on the surface of
the denture.

1. Internal porosity
Causes
-If large mass of the resin is heated within the flask, the temperature in the center of
the resin will rise. The resin and plaster or stone are both bad conductors of heat, so
they can not dissipate all the elevated heat away from the center of the bulky resin.
The temperature at the center of the resin rises above the boiling point of the
monomer (100.30 0C) leading to formation of bubbles or pores.

Site
-In the upper denture, at thick portions as tuberosity.
-In the lower denture, in the bulky portions of the lingual flanges.
2. Gaseous porosity
Cause
Any excessive or elevated curing temperature which lead to boiling
of the monomer as in internal porosity.
Site
It appears on the superficial surface of the denture.
N.B: Gaseous porosity is usually accompanied by internal porosity.

3. Contraction porosity
Causes
-Decrease the powder/ monomer ratio
-Lack of pressure during packing and curing
-Under packing (small amount of dough is used in the mold).
Site
At the edges of the flanges of the denture.
4. Granular porosity

Causes

-Increase powder/monomer ratio

-Packing in sandy stage

Site

It appears on the surface of thin areas of the denture.

 How can porosity be avoided ?

-Proper proportion of polymer and monomer

-Proper mixing leading to homogeneity of the mass

-The glass jar must be cool all the time mixing is done

-Never pack at any stage other than the dough stage

-Under packing may lead to tooth contraction and granular

porosity

-Too rapid rise of heating temperature may lead to both types

of porosity internal and gaseous.

B. Warpage
Warpage or distortion is the change of the final shape of the upper or

lower denture due to dimensional changes and release of internal stresses.

Causes
-Opening of the flask before cooling
-Too rapid cooling of the flask in tap water
-Excessive heating release during polishing, repair by heat cure.
-Excessive pressure during processing of heat cured PMMA resin when the
temperature is about 70 0C, the polymer monomer mix, expands thermally. If the
flask is clamped rigidly, such expansion of the resin must be compensated for by
enlargement of the mold space.
C. Crazing
Crazing is small linear cracks that appear to originate at denture’s
surface, may result from stress application or partial dissolution of a
resin. It begins at the surface of a resin and oriented at right angles
to tensile forces due to separation of individual polymer chains.

Causes
1. Solvent-induced crazing result from prolonged contact with
liquids as ethyl alcohol.
2. Alternative drying and wetting of the denture.
3. Thermal stresses as a result of differences in coefficient of
thermal expansion between acrylic denture base and porcelain teeth.
Chemical-cured acrylic
denture plastics
 Called self-curing, cold-curing or
autopolymerizing resins.
 It has the same composition as that of heat-cured
acrylic denture base, but some differences exist

 The powder contains polymers beads of low

molecular weight.

 The liquid contains a chemical activator which is

responsible for starting the polymerization
reaction at room temperature as tertiary amine
that reacts with the peroxide initiator and
sufficient free radicals are produced to initiate the
polymerization reaction.
Differences between heat and
chemical cured acrylics
Difference Heat-cured Chemical-cured
Addition polymerization Addition polymerization
Polymerization reaction activated by heating starts at room temp. in
presence of amine
system
Degree of polymerization Higher due to heating Lower

Polymerization shrinkage Higher Lower

Residual monomer Lower Higher

content 0.2-0.5% 3-5%

Mechanical properties Higher Lower

Water sorption Lower Higher

Color stability Good Discoloration due to

oxidation of tertiary
amine
Dimensional *Under size (0.3- *Over size (0.1%).
changes after 0.4%). *Polymerization shrinkage
several months of *Polymerization *Relief of internal stresses
service shrinkage
*Thermal shrinkage
*Relief of internal
stresses

Practicability -Long processing time -Short processing time (10-15 min.)

(2-8 hours). -Compression or fluid resin tech could be
-Compression or used
injection molding
tech. could be used

Applications Making permanent Denture bases, repair of broken dentures

denture bases and and special trays
removable
orthodontic
appliances
Advantages
 Denture base fabrication in short time
 Dimensional accuracy

Disadvantages
 Lower mechanical properties as stiffness
 Higher porosity
 Color instability which can be reduced by the addition of
stabilizing agent
 Higher residual monomer that could irritate the patient’s soft
tissues and act as plasticizer that result in decreased transverse
strength
Light-activated acrylic resin
Applications
 Denture bases, repair of broken
dentures and special trays.
 A sheet of the material is adapted to the
working cast and cured for 5 min. in a
light-curing unit (Triad). The rope
material is adapted as horse shoe over
the cured base and the artificial teeth
are arranged over it. Curing for another
5 min occur.
Advantages
 No MMA monomer found → reducing the possibility
of allergic reaction.
 Lower rate of polymerization reaction→ better
fitness of denture base.
 Short processing time with no need for flasking.

Disadvantages
 Lower mechanical and physical properties
When patients are known to have suffered
from an allergic reaction
 Processing the denture for extended periods (such as 24
versus 8 hours) may be helpful.

 Processing heat polymerized poly (methyl methacrylate) in

a water bath for 7 hours at 70" C, followed by boiling for 1
hour. Boiling has only a slight effect on the dimensional
accuracy of the processed dentures.

 Vinyl acrylic or light-activated denture base materials are

an alternative for those patients who are sensitive to methyl
methacrylate monomer.
Polymerization shrinkage

 The density of methyl methacrylate monomer is only

0.945 g/cm3 at 20º C, compared with 1.16 to 1.18 g/cm3 for
poly (methyl methacrylate).

 This increase in density is mainly accounted for by an

approximate 21% decrease in volume of monomer during
polymerization.

 Because the ratio of polymer to monomer used in the

preparation of dental poly(methyl methacrylates) and
polyvinyl acrylics is usually 3: 1, the free volumetric
shrinkage amounts to approximately 6%