Naveen S Yadav, Sneha Saraf, Sunil Kumar Mishra, Puja Hazari
Department of Maxillofacial Prosthodontics and Implantology, Peoples Dental Academy, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.
DOI: 10.4103/0976-9668.159999

ABSTRACT

Aim: We evaluated the effect of incorporating Fluconazole, Chlorhexidine Gluconate, and Silver-Zinc Zeolite as bioactive materials (10% of mass) on the flexural strength of commercially available heat-cured polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA; Travelon). Materials and Methods: The following four groups were compared; Group 1: Control group with pure PMMA, Group 2: Antibacterial drug group with chlorhexidine gluconate in powder form + PMMA, Group 3: Antifungal drug group with fluconazole in powder form + PMMA, Group 4: Antimicrobial agent group with silver zinc zeolite in powder form + PMMA. After processing, the specimens were subjected for flexural strength testing using three-point bending test in a universal testing machine. Results: A significant (P < 0.0001) decrease in flexural strength following incorporation of Fluconazole, Chlorhexidine Gluconate, and Silver-Zinc Zeolite to heat polymerized acrylic resin was observed when compared with the control group. The decrease in mean flexural strength was minimal in the fluconazole group. Conclusion: Although the addition of a bioactive material to PMMA acrylic is desirable, it is not practical as it reduces flexural strength of the acrylic base.

Keywords: Bioactive compounds, chlorhexidine gluconate, flexural strength, fluconazole, polymethyl methacrylate, silver-zinc zeolite.