AN IN VITRO STUDY TO EVALUATE THE TEAR STRENGTH OF AUTOCLAVABLE PVS, SMART WETTING PVS AND CONDENSATION SILICONE AND COMPARE THEM UPON AUTOCLAVING AND DISINFECTION.

Abstract

Aim: The tear strength of three different types of elastomeric impression materials was measured after disinfection and sterilization. Material and Method: Dumb-bell shaped Tear strength specimens were prepared according to ISO 34-1 standardization. Ninety samples were prepared followed by disinfection and sterilization and tested with trouser piece method on Instron universal testing machine at a speed of 10 mm/min. One-way ANOVA, followed by Tukey post hoc test was used for statistical analysis. Results: No signicant difference was found when AFFINIS, SPEEDEX and AQUASIL were compared individually. When materials were compared with each other signicant difference was present, highest AQUASIL while SPEEDEX and AFFINIS almost alike. Conclusion: It was concluded that tear strength of AQUASIL was the highest. Disinfection and autoclaving had no signicant inuence on the three materials and showed adequate tear strength.