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Available online at ajdhs.com 

Asian Journal of Dental and Health Sciences 
Open Access to Dental and Medical Research 

Copyright  © 2024 The  Author(s): This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC 4.0 
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial use provided 

the original author and source are credited  

 

 

Denture Adhesives: An Overview 
Grace Patricia F * , Ferish J Godwin , Sandeep N , Dr. Nagappan  

Karpaga Vinayaga Institute of Dental Sciences, Padalam, Tamil Nadu 603308, India 

Article Info: 
_____________________________________________ 
Article History: 

Received   21 January 2023     
Reviewed  18 February 2024 
Accepted   06 March 2024 
Published 15 March 2024 

_____________________________________________ 
Cite this article as:  

Patricia F G, Godwin FJ, Sandeep N, Nagappan, 
Denture Adhesives: An Overview, Asian Journal of 
Dental and Health Sciences. 2024; 4(1):57-59 

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22270/ajdhs.v4i1.69     
_____________________________________________ 

*Address for Correspondence:   

Grace Patricia F, Karpaga Vinayaga Institute of 
Dental Sciences, Padalam, Tamil Nadu 603308, 
India 

Abstract 
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Denture adhesives are used for many years by denture wearers. Proper denture don’t need denture 
adhesives. Denture adhesives provide satisfaction and confident to denture wearing patients. It 
reduces the inadequate errors during clinical and technical procedure. Proper application and usage 
of denture help in proper retention and stability and improve the self-confidence of the patient. 
There are many advantages and disadvantages are present, Patient should use under the guideline 
and caution of the dentist. 

Keywords: Denture adhesives, denture wearing patients, satisfaction and confident 

 

 

Introduction: Denture plays an important role in 
edentulous patients for mastication, mental assurance and 
healthy life style 1. Retention and stability of denture enhance 
the complete denture therapy 2. The denture adhesive are 
considered as useful additive and used wisely to meet 
treatment objectives and patients expectations 3. It is a mixed 
vegetable gums or synthetic polymers consist of mucilaginous 
substrate which helps in adhesion of denture to oral mucosa4. 

Discussion: Denture adhesive study by Kapur in 1967 under 
26 denture wearers states that denture adhesives improve the 
incisive ability of denture wearers 5. 

Tarbet et al. studied the impact of adhesives on denture 
retention and stability, finding that patients reported enhanced 
chewing skills, confidence, and comfort, less food impaction, as 
well as reduced wobbling 6 

Hew et al. used a kinesiographic technique to determine the 
effectiveness of denture adhesives in improving the retention 
and stability of the complete maxillary denture in vivo 7 

Abdelmelak and Michael9 found that denture adhesives 
decreased pressure and friction on the underlying mucosa 8.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

                                                                      

  
            COMPOSITION 

          [THREE GROUPS] 

GROUP 1 

Materials responsible for sticky 

characteristics include karaya gum, 

tragacanth, acacia, pectin, gelatin, 

methyl cellulose, and hydroxyl. This 

also materials include methyl 

cellulose, sodium carboxy-methyl 

cellulose, and synthetic polymers 

such as polyethylene oxide, 

acrylamides, and acetic poly-vinyl4 

GROUP 2 

Consist of anti-microbial 

agent include 

hexachlorophene, sodium 

borate, sodium tetraborate, 

and ethanol 4 

GROUP 3 

Ingredients may include 

additives, plasticizers, 

wetting agents, and 

flavorings like wintergreen 

or peppermint oil 4 

 

 

 

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Grace Patricia F et al                                                                                                                 Asian Journal of Dental and Health Sciences. 2024; 4(1):57-59 

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Mechanism of Action:  

Dental adhesives works by Absorbing water and swells which 
helps in retention and stability. 

We must first investigate the mechanism behind the operation 
of modern adhesives in order to comprehend them. In his 1919 
review paper, Sharry outlined this process 9: "When water is 
present, the substance swells filling in the gaps that exist 
between the tissues and the prosthetic. Stickiness is created 
when water is absorbed by the adhesive substances and the 
generated anions are drawn to the cations in the mucus 
membrane proteins. 2,3 

According to Stefan he said that the viscosity of the liquid 
between two discs or plates directly determines the force to 
pull it apart. Saliva plays an important role in the adhesive as it 
increases the viscosity thereby improving the retention and 
making it difficult to remove. This offer strong cohesive and bio 
adhesive forces in modern adhesives 10, 11 

The three types of denture adhesives were employed, and they 
began to boost retention right away. Their effectiveness starts 
from the baseline, and after two hours, maximum retention was 
reached. Saliva could not continuously flow into the area 
between the mucosa and denture base. (Floy Strand et al., 1991; 
Grasso et al., 12  

Application 1:  

Denture should be clean without any food debris. Before 
application of adhesives, denture should be wet. In tissue-
bearing area, small amount of denture adhesive should be 
added. Then denture is placed firmly with hand pressure for 5-
10 sec. excess should be removed using gauze and ask the 
patient to close the mouth in the centric occlusion for many 
times. 

Landmarks for maxilla: anterior alveolar ridge, center of hard 
palate, posterior palatal seal area. 

Landmarks for mandible: entire sulcus region. 

Ideal Characteristics of Denture Adhesives 4 

1. Physically available in powder, cream, gel form. 

2. To preserve neutral pH and prevent the growth of bacterial 
colonies. 

3. Denture adhesives should have minimal toxicity. 

4. Adhesive property should withstand at least for 12-16 hrs. 

5. Easy to apply and remove on denture and oral mucosa. 

6. Taste should be good, in order to avoid nausea or vomiting 
reflex. 

7. Should provide retention, stability, comfort during speech, 
mastication. 

Indication 10 

1. Jaw Relation: To maintain trial bases. 

2. Immediate Denture: To improve denture stability and 
retention, soon the denture become loose due to soft tissue 
healing and bone resorption. 

3. In patients undergoing intraoral surgical operations, to 
stabilize an existing or temporary prosthesis 

4. Psychological assistance 

5. Anatomical structures compromised 

6. Senior citizens 

7. Patients with physical or mental disabilities 

8. Xerostomia: as a result of medication side effects, head and 
neck radiation history, systemic illness, or diseases affecting 
the salivary glands find it extremely difficult to maintain 
complete dentures because of reduced retention and a higher 
risk of ulceration of the tissues supporting the denture.13 

9. Neuroligical Disorders: The usage of complete dentures can 
be made more difficult by a number of neurological conditions, 
but adhesive may be able to aid get beyond the obstacles13 

10. Implants with osseo-integration 

11. Partially removable dentures. 

Contraindication 4 

1. Allergies to any of the ingredients in denture adhesives. 

2. Severe deficiencies in function and retention. 

3. Loss of vertical dimension due to excessive soft tissue 
shrinking and bone resorption. 

4. Retaining broken dentures with adhesives is not advised in 
the posterior palatal seal area and the hard palate's 94 center 
or prosthesis missing flanges. 

5. Denture adhesive should not be used by patients who are 
unable to keep their dentures clean. 

Conclusion:  

Correct use of denture adhesives helps in proper function, 
comfort, retention and mental assurance of the patient. Patient 
needs proper guideline and advice for denture adhesives. 
Adhesives improve denture function, but they shouldn't be 
used as anchorage to make up for denture problems. 

References 

1. Kumar PR, Shajahan PA, Mathew J, Koruthu A, Aravind P, Ahammed 
MF. Denture Adhesives in Prosthodontics: An Overview. J Int Oral 
Health. 2015;7(Suppl 1):93-5. PMID: 26225115; PMCID: 
PMC4516076. 

2 Duqum I, Powers KA, Cooper L, Felton D. Denture adhesive use in 
complete dentures: clinical recommendations and review of the 
literature. Gen Dent. 2012 Nov-Dec;60(6):467-77; quiz p. 478-9. 
PMID: 23220302. 

3. Adisman IK. The use of denture adhesives as an aid to denture 
treatment. J Prosthet Dent. 1989 Dec;62(6):711-5. 
https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3913(89)90598-2 PMid:2685261 

4. Yankell SL. Overview of research and literature on denture 
adhesives. Compend Contin Educ Dent (Lawrenceville). 
1984;Suppl 4:S18-21. PMID: 6380919. 

5. Kapur KK. A clinical evaluation of denture adhesives. J Prosthet 
Dent. 1967 Dec;18(6):550-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-
3913(67)90221-1 PMid:4863771 

6.Tarbet WJ, Boone M, Schmidt NF. Effect of a denture adhesive on 
complete denture dislodgement during mastication. J Prosthet 
Dent. 1980 Oct;44(4):374-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-
3913(80)90092-X PMid:6997464 

7. V, Chandrakala; S, Deepmala. Prospective of Denture Adhesives in 
Prosthodontics: A Review. International Journal of Oral Care and 
Research. 2020; 8(1):8-10. | DOI: 10.4103/INJO.INJO_4_20 

8. Kumar PR, Shajahan PA, Mathew J, Koruthu A, Aravind P, Ahammed 
MF. Denture Adhesives in Prosthodontics: An Overview. J Int Oral 
Health. 2015;7(Suppl 1):93-5. PMID: 26225115; PMCID: 
PMC4516076. 

9. John J. Shaery. Complete Denture Prosthodontics, 3rd ed. 

10. Grasso JE. Denture adhesives. Dent Clin North Am. 2004 
Jul;48(3):721-33, vii. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cden.2004.04.002 
PMid:15261802 

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Grace Patricia F et al                                                                                                                 Asian Journal of Dental and Health Sciences. 2024; 4(1):57-59 

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INFLUENCE OF DENTURE ADHESIVES ON ORAL HEALTH 
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12Ibraheem, E.M.A., El-sisy, A.M.E. Comparing the effect of three 
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13. Apostolov N, Todorov R, Yordanov B, Gabrovska MD, Peev T, 
Denture adhesives - implementation and advantages. Journal of 
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