Surface quality and long-term dimensional stability of current elastomeric impression materials after disinfection.

Purpose: The objectives of this investigation were to evaluate the effect of disinfection on surface quality and dimensional stability of more recent, reformulated vinylpolysiloxane (VPS) and polyether (PE) materials.

Methods: Using ANSI/American Dental Association (ADA) specification 19 protocols, 50 impressions of stainless steel dies were made with each material. Ten impressions of each material were randomly assigned to a treatment group: (1) no disinfectant; (2) 10-minute dual phenol immersion; (3) 1-hour dual phenol; (4) 10-minute sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl); and (5) 1-hour NaOCl.