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Introduction: Polymethyl methacrylate is a polymer commonly used in clinicaldentistry, including denture bases, occlusal splints and orthodontic retainers.

Methods: To augment the polymethyl methacrylate-based dental appliances incounteracting dental caries, we designed a polymer blend film composed ofpolymethyl methacrylate and polyethylene oxide by solution casting and addedsodium fluoride.

Results: Polyethylene oxide facilitated the dispersion of sodium fluoride,decreased the surface average roughness, and positively influenced thehydrophilicity of the films. The blend film made of polymethyl methacrylate,polyethylene oxide and NaF with a mass ratio of 10: 1: 0.3 showed sustainedrelease of fluoride ions and acceptable cytotoxicity. Antibacterial activity of all thefilms to Streptococcus mutans was negligible.

Discussion: This study demonstrated that the polymer blends of polyethyleneoxide and polymethyl methacrylate could realize the relatively steady release offluoride ions with high biocompatibility. This strategy has promising potential toendow dental appliances with anti-cariogenicity.