Denture stomatitis is diagnosed. Which denture base material is LEAST associated with candidal colonisation?

Correct answer: D. Heat-cured (heat-polymerised) acrylic resin

• A. Soft liners are the WORST of the group. They are inherently porous, they degrade and lose their plasticiser over time, they cannot be polished, and they colonise heavily — which is why they need frequent replacement and are a poor long-term solution.
• B. Light-cured repair materials are convenient chairside but are more porous than a properly processed heat-cured base.
• C. Chemically cured resin is the classic answer to the opposite question. It polymerises without controlled heat and pressure and retains a HIGHER content of residual monomer, and that excess monomer leaves the material more POROUS with a rougher surface — which is exactly what allows Candida albicans to adhere and to survive mechanical cleaning. This is why chairside relines and repairs are more prone to candidal infection, and it is relevant to this patient, whose lower denture was relined chairside.
• D. CORRECT. HEAT-CURED PMMA is polymerised under controlled heat and pressure, leaving the LOWEST residual monomer content of the acrylics. Less residual monomer means a denser, harder, less porous material that takes and holds a high polish — and since surface porosity and roughness are what permit candidal adhesion, heat-cured resin is the least colonised of the options.

Note: Whatever the material, management of denture stomatitis is a package rather than a prescription: leave the denture OUT at night, disinfect the prosthesis itself because it is the reservoir (chlorhexidine soak, or dilute hypochlorite for all-acrylic dentures only — never one with metal components), treat the mucosa with a topical antifungal, and correct the fit. Treating the mouth alone guarantees reinfection.