Comparative Evaluation of Surface Hardness, Roughness, Tensile Strength, and Antifungal Property of Soft Liners Incorporated With Silver Vanadate and Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles: An In Vitro Study

Aim This in vitro study aimed to evaluate and compare the antifungal efficacy, surface hardness, roughness, and tensile bond strength of heat-cure acrylic resin with soft liners incorporated with silver vanadate and titanium dioxide nanoparticles. Methods and materials In the present study, 120 was the total sample size; a total of six groups (A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, and B3) were prepared, with each group consisting of 20 specimens. The specimens from each group were further subdivided into four categories to evaluate different parameters, namely, antifungal efficacy, surface hardness, surface roughness, and tensile bond strength. Thus, for each parameter, five specimens were allotted from every group (n = 5). Two soft liners - Dentsply Viscogel (Dentsply Sirona, York, PA) (Group A) and Maarc Dental Soft Liner (Maarc Dental, Thane, India) (Group B) - were used. Each group was subdivided into a control group and an experimental group. Specimens were fabricated using stainless steel molds (10 mm diameter × 2 mm thickness for testing antifungal efficacy, surface hardness, and roughness; 40 mm × 10 mm × 10 mm for testing tensile bond strength of heat-cure acrylic resin with soft liner). Antifungal activity against <i>Candida albicans</i> was assessed using Sabouraud's dextrose agar. Surface hardness and roughness were analyzed using a Shore A Durometer profilometer. Tensile bond strength of heat-cured acrylic resin with soft liner was measured using a universal testing machine. Results and conclusion Incorporation of silver vanadate significantly enhanced the antifungal activity against <i>Candida albicans</i>, as indicated by a larger zone of inhibition (p < 0.05). Surface hardness significantly increased in the Maarc Dental Soft Liner with titanium dioxide (p < 0.05), whereas silver vanadate caused a significant reduction (p < 0.05). In Dentsply Sirona Viscogel, silver vanadate significantly improved hardness (p < 0.05). Both silver vanadate and titanium dioxide nanoparticles significantly reduced surface roughness in all tested soft liners (p < 0.05). Tensile bond strength was significantly highest in the Maarc Dental Soft Liner with silver vanadate (p < 0.05), while no significant change was observed in Dentsply Sirona Viscogel (p > 0.05).