Effect of Disinfection with Hypochlorous Acid on Wettability and Surface Roughness of Polyether Impression Material

Dental impression can be contaminated through contact with patient's saliva, blood, or plaque and cross-contamination is avoided by disinfecting impression materials. Nevertheless, the disinfectants may affect the wettability and surface roughness qualities. This study aimed to investigate how the wettability and surface roughness of polyether impression material changed after being immersed in two disinfectants (2% glutaraldehyde for 10 min and 200 ppm hypochlorous acid for 15 min.). 60 polyether dental impression material specimens (Monophase Impregum, 3MESPE, Germany) were randomly categoried into three test groups of ten specimens for each test. A ring mold with a diameter of 30 mm and a thickness of 6 mm was used to prepare the specimens. The specimens were submerged in two disinfection solutions: 2% glutaraldehyde and 200 ppm hypochlorous acid. The control group did not get any disinfection. The wettability of the specimens was determined by measuring the contact angle with a Goniometer, while surface roughness was determined using a digital Profilometer. The data were submitted to a 5% variance significance analysis threshold. The results of this study show that wettability and surface roughness of polyether impression material indicate a non-significant difference as compared with the control group (P> 0.05). Within the study's limits, 2% glutaraldehyde showed safe for 10 minutes of immersion disinfection, whereas immersion in 200 ppm hypochlorous acid for 15 minutes shows promise as an efficient disinfectant without compromising the polyether's wettability or surface roughness.