The effect of chlorine-based disinfectant on wettability of a vinyl polysiloxane impression material

Statement of problem Extended contact of impression materials with chemical disinfectant could remove surfactant, significantly altering the contact angle and wettability characteristics of an impression material. Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of contact time of chemical disinfectant solution on the dynamic contact angle of a commercial vinyl polysiloxsane impression material. Material and methods Discs (3.5 × 25 mm) of heavy-body and wash consistencies of material (n=5) were fabricated and either left untreated, or subjected to spray treatment with a commercial disinfectant for various lengths of time (1, 20, or 60 minutes, or 24 hours). Treated specimens were washed and dried, after which dynamic contact angle measurements of a water droplet were determined at various points in time after deposition: 0, 2, 5, 10, 15, and 20 seconds. The same wash product was used without added surfactant (control). For a given type of impression material, contact angles were subjected to 1-way ANOVA within each droplet deposition time for all periods of disinfectant contact (α=.05). The Tukey-Kramer post hoc test was applied for pairwise means comparisons. Results For each impression material type, significant increases in contact angles were found as the duration of disinfectant contact increased, at each measured droplet deposition time point. For both materials containing surfactant, extended contact with chemical disinfectant resulted in increased contact angles that were not significantly different from those of the nonsurfactant-containing control product. Conclusions Increasing the contact time between a surfactant-containing impression material and a disinfecting solution can significantly alter the resulting contact angle of the impression material and render it similar to a material depleted of surfactant. Following manufacturer-recommended chemical disinfection times reduces surfactant loss and only minimally affects surface wettability.