The Influence of Decontamination Procedures on the Surface of Two Polymeric Liners Used in Prosthodontics

Polymeric liners are materials commonly used in prosthodontics to reshape denture surfaces contacting the soft tissues of the oral cavity. The aim of the study was to determine the impact of different cleaning methods on two polymeric materials used in prosthodontics as non-adhesive permanent liners. The material for the research consisted of samples made from Mollosil Plus (Detax, Ettlingen, Germany)—direct polysiloxan liner; and Plastitanium (Pressing Dental, San Marino, Republic of San Marino)—an injection-molded liner. A total of 198 samples were made, 99 of each assessed material. They were exposed to different cleaning methods—a toothbrush, a toothbrush and soap, a toothbrush and toothpaste (BlendaMed, Procter&Gamble, Cincinnati, OH, USA), a toothpaste and denture cleaning paste (Protefix Hygiene Denture Paste, Queisser Pharma, Germany), denture cleansing tablets (Protefix Hygiene Cleaning Tablets, Queisse Pharma, Germany), and a disinfecting spray (Aftermat, Port Jefferson Station, New York City, NY, USA)—for 1 min, 5 min, 10 min, and 15 min. The image acquisition was performed with scanning electron microscopy and samples were analyzed for the homogeneity of their surfaces—the presence of holes, grooves, precipitate, and small and large separating pieces of the material marking departures from this homogeneity. For each type of damage, one point was given. Continuous data from two groups were compared with Mann–Whitney U testing. Due to a small sample size and distribution of variables other than normal, to compare more than two groups, Kruskal–Wallis testing with post hoc analysis (Dunn test with Bonferroni correction) was used. Categorical data were compared with the chi-square test and the Fisher’s exact test. The Mollosil Plus material should be decontaminated with the use of a toothbrush or toothbrush with soap, while Plastitanium material should be disinfected. Plastitanium samples are more susceptible to damage during the decontamination procedures than Mollosil Plus.