Detection of the Release of Chlorhexidine from Cured Denture Resins Discs: Subsequently Deducing the Ability of Denture Resin as a Drug Carrier

The impact of Candida-associated denture stomatitis has been vastly discussed in the literature, starting from simple routine oral hygiene practices to the use of the denture itself as a drug delivery unit. Since candidiasis tends to keep recurring, the use of antifungal drugs in the denture or liner provides the benefit of placing the patient under oral drug intake for a long period of time.  This in-vitro study aimed to assess the release of chlorhexidine from the acrylic resin discs made from two resins, heat cure and light cure. The study also intended to assess the presence of the drug release and its sufficient effectiveness to be reproduced in-vivo in the treatment of oral candidiasis. Standard chlorhexidine solution, Chlorhexidine treated heat cure, and light cure resin disc soaked solutions were subjected to test under high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and scanning electron microscopy for the release of chlorhexidine.  The HPLC analysis of heat cure resin demonstrated that the area and height of chlorhexidine release were comparable to those of the standard chlorhexidine solution. This implies the local release of chlorhexidine in-vitro. In this study, it was found that chlorhexidine release in heat cure discs is less when compared to the standard stock solution; nonetheless, it is good enough to reach the minimum inhibition concentration of chlorhexidine to be effective against candidiasis. Although this study was limited in nature, the results raised hope for further evaluation of dentures as a drug delivery system.