Radiodensity evaluation of dental impression materials in comparison to tooth structures

Abstract

In the most recent decades, several developments have been made on impression materials' composition, but there are very few radiodensity studies in the literature. It is expected that an acceptable degree of radiodensity would enable the detection of small fragments left inside gingival sulcus or root canals.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine the radiodensity of different impression materials, and to compare them to human and bovine enamel and dentinMaterial and MethodsTwenty-five impression materials, from 5 classes, were studied: addition and condensation silicones, polyether, polysulfides and alginates. Five 1-mm-thick samples of each material and tooth structure were produced. Each sample was evaluated 3 times (N=15), being exposed to x-ray over a phosphor plate of Digora digital system, and radiodensity was obtained by the software Digora for Windows 2.5 Rev 0. An aluminum stepwedge served as a control. Data were subjected to Kruskal- Wallis and Dunn's method (α=0.05).ResultsDifferent materials and respective classes had a different behavior with respect to radiodensity. Polysulfides showed high values of radiodensity, comparable to human enamel (p>0.05), but not to bovine enamel (p<0.05). Human dentin was similar only to a heavybody addition silicon material, but bovine dentin was similar to several materials. Generally, heavybody materials showed higher radiodensity than light-body ones (p<0.05).ConclusionImpression materials' radiodensity are influenced by composition, and almost all of them would present a difficult detection against enamel or dentin background in radiographic examinations.

Alginate Materials and Dental Impression Technique: A Current State of the Art and Application to Dental Practice

“…Polysulfides showed high values of radiodensity, comparable to human enamel, but not bovine. Human dentin was similar to heavy-body silicon [49].…”

Comparison of the Accuracy of Image Registration Methods for Merging Optical Scan and Radiographic Data in Edentulous Jaws

“…The use of a radiopaque impression material for relining not only ensures complete adaption of the radiopaque appliance by the edentulous ridge, but also effectively replicates and transfers the soft tissue information of the intraoral edentulous ridge to a digital implant software. This method is especially feasible in completely edentulous cases as it allows the replicated edentulous ridge to be radiographically visualized and discernible from oral tissue, acrylic resin, and cortical bone without the need of additional attached markers 25,26 . Moreover, this method allows the digital model of the edentulous ridge to be directly generated by reverting the mesh image of the impression.…”

Accuracy of cone beam computed tomography in measuring thicknesses of hard-tissue-mimicking material adjacent to different implant thread surfaces

“…It has both optimal rigidity and elasticity that could maintain the physical integrity under preparing the different thicknesses of VPS sample adjacent to dental implant especially in 0.5, 0.3 mm thin thicknesses. It also provides sufficiently radiodensity that similar to human dentine and bone 23 . In order to prepare the hard-tissue-mimicking material to simulate the environment of the oral cavity, we created the VPS block in vitro model which was much more consistent and homogenous than other materials used in previous studies 7 , 19 , 22 .…”