Prevention of Food-Related Gingival Abrasion with use of Denture Adhesive: Results from a Pilot Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial

Purpose: To assess denture adhesive (DA) efficacy in preventing gingival abrasion from infiltrating food particles. Materials and Methods: This was a 2-treatment, 2-period, examiner-blind, crossover, randomized, controlled pilot clinical trial involving 10 adults with a full maxillary and/or mandibular denture opposed by natural or artificial dentition and a history of food particle infiltration. For each 3-day treatment period, participants were assigned to use an optimized calcium/zinc partial salt of polyvinyl methyl ether/maleic acid (Fixodent Professional) DA (applied in a continuous pattern) or no adhesive. Participants consumed four 20-g peanut servings. Before the peanut challenge, gingival abrasions were stained and assessed using the Danser Abrasion Index by a trained examiner. Statistical tests were 2-sided with a 10% type I error rate. Results: The DA was significantly more effective than no adhesive at reducing the number and size of gingival abrasions after first use with 1.68 versus 4.10 mean number of abrasions, respectively (59.0% fewer with DA; p = 0.036) and a mean lesion size of 4.91 mm2 versus 21.77 mm2, respectively (77.5% smaller with DA; p = 0.031). This benefit persisted across days 2 and 3 with 1.58 versus 4.25 mean number of abrasions, respectively (62.8% fewer with DA; p = 0.007) and a mean lesion size of 4.15 mm2 versus 26.00 mm2 (84.1% smaller with DA; p = 0.044). Average chewing duration was 268.0 seconds with DA and 366.6 seconds without DA. Conclusion: The DA was significantly more efficacious than no adhesive at preventing food-related gingival lesions in denture wearers.