This study investigated the effects of disinfection of agar-alginate combined impressions on the surface properties of the resulting stone casts. Two brands of cartridge-form agar impression material and one alginate impression material were used. Agar-alginate combined impressions of smooth glass plates were prepared. The impressions were immersed in 0.55% ortho-phthalaldehyde solution or 0.5% sodium hypochlorite solution for 1, 3, 5 and 10 min. A stone cast made with an impression that had not been immersed was prepared as a control. The surface roughness (Ra) of the stone casts was measured, and the cast surfaces were observed by SEM. Immersion of agar-alginate combined impressions in 0.5% sodium hypochlorite solution for up to 10 min had no serious adverse effects on the surface properties of the stone casts. In contrast, even 1 min of immersion in 0.55% ortho-phthalaldehyde solution caused deterioration of the cast surface properties.

If impression materials could be immersed in disinfectant solutions for a longer period, then this form of disinfection would be easier to incorporate into dental preparation procedures. This study investigated the dimensional changes in stone models resulting from immersion of medium-viscosity hydrophilic addition-type silicone rubber impression material in disinfectant solutions for 30 min and 24 h. Impressions of a master die designed to simulate a full crown preparation with adjacent teeth were immersed in 2% glutaraldehyde and 0.55% ortho-phthalaldehyde solutions. The dimensional changes in the mesiodistal and buccolingual dimensions in the stone models were then measured using a three-dimensional coordinate system. It was found that the dimensional changes in the stone models caused by immersion of the impression materials were less than 15 μm. Immersion in 2% glutaraldehyde or 0.55% ortho-phthalaldehyde for 24 h was as clinically acceptable for medium-viscosity hydrophilic addition-type silicone rubber impressions as immersion for 30 min.