Background:
Denture cleaning is the most important function to increase the comfort of using dentures and to extend their functionality. This activity can be performed mechanically (with toothbrushes, denture brushes), and chemically (with toothpaste, disinfectants, powders and cleansing tablets), or by combining both, e.g. with a brush and cleansing paste.

Aim of the study:
To evaluate the influence of three different denture hygiene pastes on the functional properties of acrylic material.

Material and methods:
Acrylic samples made of Vertex Rapid Simplified resin, which were immersed in three different pastes used for cleaning dentures, were tested. The hardness, impact strength of the notched and non-notched samples, bending strength and surface roughness were examined.

Results:
The obtained results indicate that the greatest weakening of the hardness of acrylic material was caused by brushing with pastes which are not intended for everyday prosthesis hygienization. It can be postulated that the negative influence of pastes on the hardness of acrylic resin may be due to their composition. The toughness values for non-notched samples in all groups were significantly higher than those obtained in the notched samples. Each defect, imperfection in the structure of the material, adversely affects its mechanical properties.

Conclusions:
Commonly used denture cleaning pastes have little effect on their mechanical properties, but with prolonged use, they may negatively impact the roughness of acrylic material.