Dr. Gunjan Dhir’s Research on Candida-Resistant Denture Materials

• Dr. Gunjan Dhir is a prosthodontist and co-founder of Altius Dental, the group behind Dental World in Alice, Texas.
• Her research explored adding a charged ingredient, phosphate, to denture acrylic to discourage Candida, the yeast behind denture stomatitis.
• A 2008 laboratory study she co-authored found that adding phosphate to denture acrylic did not significantly change impact strength, fracture toughness, or bonding to artificial teeth, while increasing the material’s hydrophilicity.
• Day to day denture care at Dental World is provided by Dr. Chaitra Arakere, DMD. You can explore options on our dental services page.
• Dental World is a 4.7 star dental office in Alice, Texas, with more than 440 Google reviews.

Who Is Dr. Gunjan Dhir?

Dr. Gunjan Dhir is a prosthodontist, co-founder, and Chief Dental Officer of Altius Dental, the group behind Dental World. Her prosthodontic training focuses on replacing missing teeth with dentures, bridges, and implants. She also co-founded Smile Savers Dental Solutions, alongside Dr. Gaurav Puri, to help make implant and full-mouth restorative care more accessible to rural and underserved Texas communities. Her published research on denture materials and Candida resistance reflects the same focus on improving long-term restorative care.

Beyond the clinic, Dr. Gunjan Dhir is a published dental researcher whose work looked closely at the material a denture is made of, not just the teeth on the front of it. You can read her full profile on the Altius Dental leadership page.

Why Denture Materials Matter ?

Dentures attract yeast because their surface gives it an easy place to settle. Most dentures are made from an acrylic called PMMA, which is comfortable and natural looking, but a common yeast, Candida albicans, takes hold on it readily. That is the cause of denture stomatitis, a red and sometimes tender patch under the denture, usually on the roof of the mouth. Because it often does not hurt, many people do not notice it until a checkup.

The frustrating part is how it keeps returning. Your natural teeth wear a thin film of saliva that carries the mouth’s own defense proteins, which help keep microbes in balance. Denture acrylic does not attract that protective film nearly as well, so the covered underside of a denture becomes easy ground for yeast to build a sticky film. Antifungal medicine can knock the yeast back, but if the denture surface keeps holding that film, the infection simply returns. The yeast lives on the denture, not only in the mouth.

Dr. Gunjan Dhir’s Research on Candida-Resistant Dentures

Instead of treating the same infection again and again, the researchers asked a smarter question. What if the denture material itself could be made unwelcoming to yeast? Denture acrylic does not hold the mouth’s protective proteins well, partly because it lacks a certain negative electrical charge. So the idea was to add that charge back by blending a small amount of a phosphate containing ingredient into the acrylic. Think of it as giving the denture surface the same grip for the body’s natural defenses that real teeth have.

The catch is that a denture cannot only resist yeast. It still has to survive a drop onto a hard floor, resist cracks through years of chewing, keep its color, and hold its false teeth firmly in place. Improve one thing and damage another, and you have solved nothing. That tension is what the research had to resolve.

What the 2008 Study Found

Published in the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry, the study co-authored by Dr. Gunjan Dhir examined phosphate-containing denture resins and evaluated their impact strength, fracture toughness, surface wettability, and bonding ability. The researchers found no significant adverse differences in the tested physical and mechanical properties compared with the control resin, while increasing phosphate concentrations made the material more hydrophilic. 
Read the full research paper: Effect of phosphate group addition on the properties of denture base resins — PubMed

At the same time, the surface did exactly what it was supposed to. As more phosphate went in, the material grew more water friendly, and that matters because Candida clings more readily to water repelling surfaces than to water loving ones. A more water friendly denture is a less inviting home for yeast. The researchers were also clear that this is early, proof of concept work that still needs biocompatibility and clinical testing before such a material reaches patients. That honesty is a mark of good science.

What This Means for Denture Patients

For patients in Alice, the practical lesson is that a denture is only as healthy as the material and the fit working together, and that is the standard behind denture care at Dental World. Day to day care here is led by Dr. Chaitra Arakere, who brings more than 23 years of experience in comprehensive cosmetic and family dentistry and holds a Doctor of Dental Medicine from Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine. A Captain in the Texas Air National Guard, Dr. Arakere is known for a gentle touch and a patients first approach. The Alice community has noticed, giving Dental World a rating of 4.7 stars across more than 440 Google reviews. Dr. Gunjan Dhir’s work extends beyond denture materials research. Through Smile Savers Dental Solutions, which she co-founded with Dr. Gaurav Puri, she also helped develop an approach to making implant and full-mouth restorative care more accessible to rural and underserved Texas communities.

Until a yeast resisting denture exists on the market, the best defenses are the ones already in your hands:

• Clean your denture every day, including the underside that rests against your gums, where the film hides.
• Take it out overnight when your dentist says it is safe, so the tissue can breathe and the acrylic can dry.
• Care for the mouth itself too, gently brushing your gums, tongue, and palate even with no natural teeth left.
• Treat new soreness, redness, or a looser fit as a reason to call, because this problem rarely announces itself with pain.

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