Effect of cigarette smoke on the surface roughness of two different denture base materials: An in vitro study

AIM: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of cigarette smoke on the surface roughness of two commercially available denture base materials. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total numbers of 40 specimens were fabricated from two commercially available denture base materials: heat-cured polymethylmethacrylate and flexible denture base materials (20 for each). The specimens for each type were divided into four subgroups: subgroup I, heat-cured denture base material specimens (control group); subgroup II, flexible denture base material (control group); subgroup III, heat-cured denture base material specimen exposed to cigarette smoking group; and subgroup IV, flexible denture base material specimens exposed to cigarette smoking. The control groups were used for immersion in distilled water, and the smoke test groups were used for exposure to cigarette smoking. The smoke test group specimens were exposed to smoking in a custom-made smoking chamber using six cigarettes for each specimen. The surface roughness was measured using a profilometer, and the measurements were considered as the difference between the initial and final roughness measured before and after smoking. Paired t test and independent t-test were used to interpret differences in initial and final roughness values within and between groups respectively. RESULTS: Paired t-test showed a significant difference between initial surface roughness and final surface roughness within each subgroup. CONCLUSION: The surface roughness of the specimens fabricated from the flexible denture base material was found to be more compared to heat-cured denture base specimens after exposure to cigarette smoke.