An in vitro study to compare the dimensional accuracy of commercially available heat cure denture processing materials at the posterior palatal seal area

Background: Posterior palatal seal area which the most posterior limitation of maxillary denture base has a greater contribution for retention in maxillary complete denture. The material aspect that is the heat cure denture base materials used for fabrication of final prosthesis is also equally important for clinical success. These materials may show variation in their properties such as strength and dimensional stability. These dimensional changes occurred are may be due to the combined result of both polymerization shrinkage and stresses released during flask cooling and it further may alter the pattern of dimensional acrylic resin behavior. Aims and Objectives: The aims and objectives of the study was to evaluate and compare the dimensional accuracy of various heat polymerizing materials on the posterior palatal seal area. Materials and Methods: Four commercially available heat cure denture processing materials, namely, Lucitone (Dentsply), Dental products India (DPI), Viracryl, Trevalon (Dentsply) were used as testing materials. An ideal edentulous Class I maxillary stone mold is taken as master die. A total of 20 samples were taken and were divided into four groups of five each. The dimensional changes were assessed at five different points marked at the posterior palatal seal area using a digital caliper with an accuracy of 0.01 mm. Results: Statistical analysis was performed by IBM SPSS version 21 using Kruskal–Wallis test, and the statistical significance was defined at P < 0.01. The mean marginal increase was 2.61 mm for DPI, 1.64 mm for Lucitone, 1.94 mm for Viracryl, and 1.34 mm for Trevalon. Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study, it was concluded that the dimensional accuracy of dentures is influenced by the type of heat cured materials used. In this study, Trevalon exhibited minimal discrepancy while DPI showed the highest discrepancy among the groups with statistically significant difference between the materials.