antibacterial effect of sanosil 2% and 6% and sodium hypochlorite 0.5% on impressions of irreversible hydrocolloid (alginate) and condensational silicone (speedex)

conclusions within the limitations of this study, disinfectants were able to completely eliminate microorganisms carried by the alginate impressions. however, more efficient disinfection methods are needed to eliminate the risk of cross contamination by condensational silicone impressions. background dental impressions often carry microorganisms that may cause cross-infection from patients to dental staff. impressions should be disinfected to eliminate the risk of cross-contamination. objectives the aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of three different disinfectant solutions on two commonly used impression materials. materials and methods seventy-two impressions were taken from dentate arches of nine dental staff from the school of dentistry, hamadan university of medical sciences. eight successive impressions were recorded in two different impression materials for each participant as four alginate and four condensational silicones (speedex). for each impression material, specimens were exposed to four different regimens; one was immersed in sterile water as control, and the remaining specimens were exposed to three different disinfection treatments (0.5% sodium hypochlorite, 2% sanosil, and 6% sanosil) for 10 minutes. the impressions were washed with distilled water for 15 seconds, were inserted into sterilized tubes, and covered with tryptic soy broth media (tsb). the tubes were incubated at 350 ºc for 24 hours. in total, 0.01 milliliter was obtained from each tube, and inoculated on blood agar medium. gram staining and biochemical tests were performed for bacterial detection. data was analyzed by spss software using fisher exact test. results bacterial growth was observed in all impressions immersed in sterile water for 10 minutes (control group). disinfected alginate impressions were not contaminated with any microorganisms. none of the solutions under examination were completely effective for condensational silicone impressions. antibacterial effects on condensational silicone impressions ranked in a decreasing order as 0.5% sodium hypochlorite, 6% sanosil and 2% sanosil.