Incorporating versus coating antimicrobials for polymethyl methacrylate: A systematic review.

Statement Of Problem: Incorporating and coating with antimicrobials are techniques that can confer antimicrobial action on polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) denture bases, which can accumulate microorganisms and promote oral and systemic disease.

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review was to answer the question: "Do techniques for incorporating and coating antimicrobial agents in PMMA promote antimicrobial action?"

Material And Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist guidelines were followed, and the SCOPUS, PubMed/Medline, EMBASE, and Science Direct databases searched. The studies were selected in 2 stages, reading the titles and abstracts and then reading the selected studies in full. The risk of bias was analyzed by adapting the quasi-experimental studies tool by the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI).

Results: A total of 970 articles were found in the databases; 71 were duplicates and, after reading the abstracts, 38 were selected for full reading. From these, 6 were excluded because they did not fulfill the inclusion criteria, and 32 studies were included in this review. Autopolymerizing, heat- polymerizing, and light-polymerizing resins were evaluated, with the incorporating technique prevailing over the coating, but both techniques effectively promoted antimicrobial activity.

Conclusions: Incorporating and coating antimicrobial agents are effective methods of promoting antimicrobial activity in PMMA. Combining the 2 methods led to increased antimicrobial activity compared with each individually.