EFFECTIVENESS OF VARIOUS DISINFECTANTS ON ALGINATE IMPRESSION MATERIAL: IN-VITRO EXPERIMENTAL STUDY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33279/jkcd.v15i02.820Keywords:
Irreversible hydrocolloids, Alginate impression, Disinfection, Chlorohexidine, Sodium hypochloriteAbstract
Objectives:
The objective of the study was to highlight a disinfectant which dentists can use to decontaminate alginate impressions in hospitals and clinics before sending it to laboratory.
Materials and Methods:
This In-vitro experimental study was conducted at the Department of Prosthodontics, Sardar Begum Dental College & Hospital, Peshawar. After Ethical approval Microbiological analysis were carried out at Research Centre Gandhara University, Peshawar. Consent was taken from Male dentate individuals fulfi lling the inclusion criteria and maxillary impressions were achieved from them. Palatal portion each impression was divided into four section. Specimens of control group 1 were left unwashed and
untreated whereas; Specimens of experimental group 2 were sprayed with simple tap water, specimens of experimental group 3 were washed with 0.5% hypochlorite solution and specimens of experimental group 4 were treated with 1% chlorohexidine solution. These specimen were then arranged on blood agar petriplates stitched with S.mutans and results were collected. For dimensional stability specimen were made from alginate impression materials and were tested according to ADA specification no 19.
Results:
The control group (untreated) exhibited the highest mean microbial colony count (63.6 ± 15.1 CFU), while disinfection with 1% chlorhexidine resulted in the lowest (1.27 ± 1.53 CFU), refl ecting a 98% reduction in microbial load (p < 0.001). Treatment with 0.5% sodium hypochlorite also showed a signifi cant reduction (2.2 ± 1.90 CFU; p < 0.001, 96.5% reduction), whereas rinsing with tap water (19.87 ± 6.78 CFU) achieved only a 68.8% reduction (p < 0.001). In terms of dimensional stability, untreated impressions showed a 10%
reduction in dimensions after 1 hour (from 20 mm to 18 mm). In contrast, the 1% chlorhexidine group maintained dimensional stability with only a 2.5% change (20 mm to 19.5 mm), followed by 0.5% hypochlorite (4.5%) and tap water (4%). All changes were statistically significant (p < 0.05), with 1% chlorhexidine showing the most favorable balance of antimicrobial effi cacy and minimal dimensional distortion.
Conclusion:
Chlorohexidine 1% is proved to be a potent disinfectant as compared to tap water and 0.5% sodium hypochlorite for irreversible hydrocolloid alginate impression material.
References
Ghahramanloo A, Sadeghian A, Sohrabi K, Bidi A.A microbiologic investigation following the disinfection of irreversible hydrocolloid materials using the spray method. J Calif Dent Assoc. 2009;37(7):471-7.
Casemiro LA, Pires-de-Souza Fde C, Panzeri H, Martins CH, Ito IY. In vitro antimicrobial activity of irreversible hydrocolloid impressions against 12 oral microorganisms. Braz Oral Res. 2007;21(4):323-9.
Suprono MS, Kattadiyil MT, Goodacre CJ, Winer MS. Effect of disinfection on irreversible hydrocolloid and alternative impression materials and the resultant gypsum casts. J Prosthet Dent. 2012;108(4):250-8.
Fabiani L, Mosca G, Giuliani AR. Hygiene in dental practices. Eur J Paediatr Dent. 2006;7(2):93-7.
Jeyapalan V, Krishnan CS, Ramasubramanian H, Sampathkumar J, Azhagarasan NS, Krishnan M. Comparative Evaluation of the Antimicrobial Efficacy of Three Immersion Chemical Disinfectants on Clinically Derived Poly(Vinyl Siloxane) Impressions. J Prosthodont. 2018;27(5):469-75.
Masoumeh A, Fatemeh G, Siavash T, Shima A, Effect of Different Disinfecting Agents on Dental Impressions Contaminated with Candida albicans. Denthyp. 2021: 12(3); 139-42
Al-Jabrah O, Al-Shumailan Y, Al-Rashdan M. Antimicrobial eff ect of 4 disinfectants on alginate, polyether, and polyvinyl siloxane impression materials. Int J Prosthodont 2007; 20: 299–307.
Swati J.A, Narendra P, Sumit V, Prerna S, NagaveniS. S, InduC. R. Eff ect of heat sterilization and chemical method of sterilization on the polyvinyl siloxane impression material. A comparative study. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care.2020: 9(3); 1348-52.
Denise T, Castro, Simone K, Viviane C, Oliveira, Oswaldo L. Andréa C. Development of an Impression Material with Antimicrobial Properties for Dental Application. Journal of Prosthodontics. 2019: 28(8); 906-12.
Vidhya J, Chitra S.K, Hariharan R, Jaya K.K, Sampath K. Azhararasan N.S. Comparative Evaluation of the Antimicrobial Efficacy of Three Immersion Chemical Disinfectants on Clinically Derived Poly(Vinyl Siloxane) Impressions. Journal of prosthodontics. 2016: 27 (5); 469-75.
Marya CM, Shukla P, Dahiya V, Jnaneswar A. Current status of disinfection of dental impressions in Indian dental colleges: a cause of concern. J Infect DevCtries. 2011 15;5(11):776-80.
Gupta S, Rani S, Garg S. Infection control knowledge and practice: A cross-sectional survey on dental laboratories in dental institutes of North India. J Indian ProsthodontSoc 2017; 17: 348–354.
RDH MS MSDH. Dental impression disinfection recommendations and best practices. Dental Economics.
AlZain S. Effect of chemical, microwave irradiation, steam autoclave, ultraviolet light radiation, ozone and electrolyzed oxidizing water disinfection on properties of impression materials: A systematic review and meta-analysis study. The Saudi Dental Journal 2020; 32: 161.
Moura C, Moura W, Mantovani Gomes França F, et al. Disinfection of irreversible hydrocolloid impressions with sodium hypochlorite steam: Assessment of antimicrobial effi cacy. 2010; 25: 182–187.
Doddamani S, Patil RA, Gangadhar SA. Efficacy of various spray disinfectants on irreversible hydrocolloid impression materials: An in vitro study. Indian Journal of Dental Research 2011; 22: 764.
Kollu S, Hedge V, Pentapati KC. Efficacy of Chlorhexidine in Reduction of Microbial Contamination in Commercially Available Alginate Materials – In-Vitro Study. 2013; 7.
Gounder R, Vikas BVJ. Comparison of disinfectants by immersion and spray atomization techniques on the linear dimensional stability of diff erent interocclusal recording materials: An in vitro study. Eur J Dent 2016; 10: 7–15.
Irfan Qamruddin, Adel Z Siddiqui, Qamar Aziz, Sidra Butt. Comparison of Two Methods of Disinfecting Alginate Impressions Using 0.2% Chlorhexidine Digluconate. J Pak Dent Assoc. 2010; 19(4):198-201.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Fawad Fayyaz , Farhan Raees , Tahir Ali Khan, Madiha Gul, Ariffullah Khan, Wajiha Ahmad
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes .
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
