Abstract
This article presents a contemporary overview of soft or compliant denture lining materials. It does not focus on denture bases, which are intrinsically flexible, and suggests some clinical options which readers might wish to consider.
References
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A contemporary update on ‘soft’ linings
From Volume 38, Issue 2, March 2011 | Pages 102-104
Article
Denture bases tend, in the main, to be constructed of metal (cobalt-chromium alloy, gold alloy or, more recently, titanium) or a polymeric material, typically polymethyl methacrylate. More recently, bases made of superpolyamide have been developed, bases that were earlier on nylon-based thermoplastics, but these lack clinical research data to discuss further.
Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is used extensively where complete dentures are prescribed and, in cases of severe atrophy of the residual ridges and the overlying mucosa, consideration is given to a reduction in the load of the denture-bearing tissues by the use of a compliant (soft) lining. Such a lining may be temporary, to permit traumatized tissues to return to normal prior to constructing replacement dentures, or definitive (the word permanent suggests a longevity not normally clinically achievable or, indeed, advisable). Indeed, these compliant linings have proven so popular among such patients that clinical experience would suggest that, once patients embark on the wearing of a definitive compliant lining, the chances of success with a conventional PMMA denture base without such a lining are low.
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