A Study on Antimicrobial Effectiveness of Denture Cleansers in Partials

Objective:  Partial denture wearers often have complex dentitions with an increased potential of disease in remaining teeth and denture supporting tissue.  A study was conducted to determine if cleansing a removable partial denture (RPD) would aid in reductions of microbial populations on abutment teeth, identified as most vulnerable.

Method:  This was a three-arm, modified-crossover in 35 healthy subjects wearing RPDs.  Subjects were randomized in the first two periods of crossover to immersion in test product (Polident^® cleanser tablet, GSK) or negative control (Water), while in the third period, to positive control (Peridex^®, Chlorhexidine-Gluconate 0.12%, Zila).  Subjects performed twice-daily treatments to their RPD while brushing natural teeth with toothpaste, having one week wash-out between treatments.  Plaque samples were collected from an abutment tooth and RPD prior to study, and 21 days post-treatment.  Microbial counts (streptococci, gram-negative anaerobes, yeast) on abutment tooth and RPD surface were evaluated for efficacy.  Mixed-model with treatment as fixed effect and subject as random effect was applied to the efficacy parameters.  An adjustment for multiple comparisons was performed. 

Result:  Polident^® was superior to Water, (insignificantly different from Peridex^®) in counts of target microbial groups (gram-negative anaerobes, oral streptococcus) on RPD proximal surfaces and between adjacent denture teeth surfaces (p<0.0025).  There were no statistically significant differences between Polident^® and Water or between Polident^® and Peridex^® for target microbial groups (gram-negative anaerobes and oral streptococcus) on natural abutment teeth. There were also no significant differences between Polident^® and Water, nor between Polident^® and Peridex^®, with regards to log counts for yeast colonization on any sampled sites (p>0.0025), which was attributed to yeast counts being below detection levels (<1000CFU/mL).  All regimens were well tolerated

Conclusion:  Polident^® performed similar to Peridex^® in producing lower quantities of bacteria on RPD surfaces (relative to water), but was not significant on abutment tooth surface measures.