Abstract
Objective The impression materials are contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms carried
by saliva and blood in the mouth. The aim of this study is to evaluate the antimicrobial
activity of 1 and 5.25% sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) and zeta 7 solution, a commercial
disinfectant, on alginate and to compare it washing with distilled water.
Methods Samples obtained from alginate impressions taken from eight pediatric patients selected
in accordance with the inclusion criteria with a size of 1 × 1 cm were subjected to
five different disinfection protocols. After samples were vortexed in 3-mL physiological
saline, 1-mL volume were inoculated onto brain heart infusion agar and cultured at
37°C for 72 hours to determine the number of colony-forming units/mL. Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans were used as control strains. The data obtained were statistically evaluated by using
analysis of variance and post-hoc tests. The differences were considered statistically
significant when p < 0.05.
Results All of the disinfectant solutions tested were effective in the disinfection of the
impression materials examined. The control group with no treatment and the water and
flushing group had a significantly higher bacterial load compared to the other disinfectant-treated
groups in terms of bacterial load, and no significant difference has been observed
between the disinfectant solutions (p < 0.05). Simple rinsing of the impressions in sterile water reduced the number of
microorganisms but did not decontaminate the impressions.
Conclusion Washing with water alone is insufficient for measured disinfection. Although NaClO
is an effective disinfectant even at low concentrations, microorganism growth was
not observed at 5.25% concentration. It is appropriate to use NaClO at 1 and 5.25%
concentrations for impression disinfection.
Keywords
antimicrobial effects - dental impression - disinfection - irreversible hydrocolloids
- sodium hypochlorite
