The effect of various frequencies of ultrasonic cleaner in reducing residual monomer in acrylic resin

• Ultrasonic frequencies can reduce residual monomer in auto-polymerized acrylic resin.
• Ultrasonic frequencies do not effect residual monomer in heat-polymerized acrylic resin.
• High ultrasonic frequencies has less effect on residual monomer reduction than low frequency.
• Ultrasonic is more practical in clinic because of the less chairside time.

Monomer remaining in denture base acrylic can be a major problem because it may cause adverse effects on oral tissue and on the properties of the material. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of various ultrasonic cleaner frequencies on the amount of residual monomer in acrylic resin after curing. Forty-two specimens each of Meliodent heat-polymerized acrylic resin (M) and Unifast Trad Ivory auto-polymerized acrylic resin (U) were prepared according to their manufacturer’s instructions and randomly divided into seven groups: Negative control (NC); Positive control (PC); and five ultrasonic treatment groups: 28 kHz (F1), 40 kHz (F2), 60 kHz (F3) (M = 10 min, U = 5 min), and 28 kHz followed by 60 kHz (F4: M = 5 min per frequency, U = 2.5 min per frequency, and F5: M = 10 min followed by 5 min per frequency, U = 5 min followed by 2.5 min per frequency). Residual monomer was determined by HPLC following ISO 20795-1. The data were analyzed by One-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD. There was significantly less residual monomer in the auto-polymerized acrylic resin in all ultrasonic treatment groups and the PC group than that of the NC group (p < 0.05). However, the amount of residual monomer in group F3 was significantly higher than that of the F1, F4, and PC groups (p < 0.05). In contrast, ultrasonic treatment did not reduce the amount of residual monomer in heat-polymerized acrylic resin (p > 0.05). The amount of residual monomer in heat-polymerized acrylic resin was significantly lower than that of auto-polymerized acrylic resin. In conclusion, ultrasonic treatment at low frequencies is recommended to reduce the residual monomer in auto-polymerized acrylic resin and this method is more practical in a clinical situation than previously recommended methods because of reduced chairside time.