Comparative Study on the Characteristics of Silicone Elastomers used in Dental Impression Techniques

Abstract

Abstract Even through nowadays technology and robotics seem to have taken a front seat on the medical field, there are still conventional methods being used in dental medicine, especially related to impression techniques. Elastomers such as silicone rubbers are widely used as impression materials for their suitable properties and behavior in dentistry. As the long-term success of the prosthetic therapy relies on the impression stage, it is important to know both the advantages and disadvantages of such materials. Nowadays in vitro and in vivo studies are being conducted to establish the precision and accuracy of these materials. In this study we report comparatively a number of characteristics determined by us under identical conditions for four such materials. Structural studies (through IR and XRF), morphology (through AFM and SEM) and surface (water contact angle) were performed. Based on the results obtained we can identify more or less significant differences between some characteristics, which could help to indicate the right material depending on the case requirements.