Effect of Heliocarpus Americanus (Palo de Goma) as an Adhesive for Removable Dental Prostheses

Abstract

Objective. To evaluate the effect of Heliocarpus americanus (Palo de Goma) as an adhesive for prosthetics. Methods. Experimental, prospective, cross-sectional study. Sample size was calculated by the proportions comparison formula for independent groups, 32 subjects being included in two groups of: 16 patients for the experimental group (EG) "palo de goma" (Heliocarpus americanus), and 16 patients for the control group (CG) "Corega adhesive cream". To evaluate the effect of the adhesive, the taxonomic classification of the bark, phytochemical analysis, and infrared spectrophotometry were first carried out at Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, as well as the elaboration of the adhesive gel. Eight hours after the application of the adhesive gel, the stability and retention were measured using the Woelfel method, as well as the degree of acceptability according to the Hedonic scale. Finally, the Wilcoxon rank sum test was applied. Results. The statistical analysis did not show a significant difference (p> 0.05) between the Heliocarpus americanus gel and the Corega® GlaxoSmith adhesive cream. The degree of acceptability in the experimental group shows a high percentage in “neither like nor dislike” (37.5 %). Conclusion. The experimental gel does not show significant differences in the stability and retention of total prosthesis. Therefore, the adhesive gel can be used effectively as an adhesive of the total prosthesis.