Effect of denture cleansers on color stability and surface properties of denture base material containing titanium dioxide nanoparticles

Purpose: To investigate the effect of different denture cleansers on color stability, surface roughness, and hardness of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) infused with titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) at concentrations of 1% and 2% by weight on each.Materials and Methods: In this in vitro study, 90 disc-shaped specimens (10x10x2 mm) were divided into 3 main groups: the non-containing nanoparticle group (0wt% concentration), 1wt% concentration, and 2wt% concentration TiO2 NPs groups. Each group was further assorted into 3 subgroups (n = 10): immersed in distilled water, oxygenating tablet (Corega), and 0.5% sodium hypochlorite. Color change, surface roughness, and hardness values were assessed after 90 and 180 days of storage. Color changes (triangle E) were measured with a spectrophotometer (VITA, Easy Shade V, Germany) and assessed using the CIE L*a*b* colorimetric system and the American National Bureau of Standards (NBS = 0.92x triangle E). The surface roughness and surface hardness values were measured using a profilometer device and Vickers hardness tester, respectively. First, ANOVA-repeated measurements were performed, followed by the Tukey test. The significance level in this study was considered 0.05.Results: At all concentrations, there were significant differences in the mean color changes of samples immersed in cleansers compared to distilled water (p < 0.01). Moreover, hypochlorite caused a significant increase compared to Corega at 0wt% concentration after 90 days and at 1wt% concentration after 90 and 180 days. Evaluations also showed that the mean NBS values in all cleanser groups were in the range of appreciable change, except the water group. In addition, only hypochlorite changed the color higher than the clinically acceptable range (triangle E >3.7). The mean roughness of samples immersed in hypochlorite at 0wt% concentration was significantly higher than the samples containing TiO2 NPs (p = 0.006). No significant difference was observed in surface roughness of samples containing different concentrations of TiO2 NPs immersed in different cleansers; however, hypochlorite increased the surface roughness of samples without TiO2 NPs compared to samples containing TiO2 NPs after 180 days. The immersion time in cleansers had a significant influence on the surface roughness and hardness while having no effect on the color.Conclusion: In general, the cleansers had a significant effect on color change in all groups compared to distilled water. The adverse effect of hypochlorite was more than Corega. The cleansers in the samples containing TiO2 NPs did not make a significant difference in surface roughness in comparison with the distilled water groups. Surface hardness of the samples was not affected in a steady pattern by the cleansers.