The Physical Properties of Vanillin-Incorporated Irreversible Hydrocolloid Impression Material

Irreversible hydrocolloid impression material is extensively used in dentistry to record and duplicate the details of tooth structure, surrounding tissue, and other intraoral structures. The materials allow dentists to work more easily and perform better diagnosis and treatment planning. When used, the material is exposed to oral microorganisms, some are pathogens, from the patient’s teeth, mucosa, blood, and saliva. These pathogens can be absorbed into the material and transmitted to dentists and other dental workers. Hydrocolloid impression material incorporated with vanillin has been shown to exhibit antimicrobial potential, however, its physical properties have not been performed. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the physical properties of a vanillin-incorporated irreversible hydrocolloid impression material on four different physical properties: working time, setting time, elastic recovery, and strain-in compression. The impression powder was mixed with varying concentrations of vanillin (0.1%, 0.5%, and 1.0% w/w) using the electric vacuum mixer. The impression material without vanillin was used as a control. All the tests were done following the ISO specification 21563: 2021 for dental materials with 15 specimens for each test. The result showed that at concentrations of 0%, 0.1%, and 0.5% w/w vanillin, no significant change in the four physical properties has been observed. However, the working time and setting time values of impression material with 1% vanillin were reduced significantly and did not meet the ISO standard. In conclusion, the incorporation of 0.1%, 0.5%, and 1% w/w vanillin into irreversible hydrocolloid impression material showed a significant reduction in setting time and working time. However, when considering the ISO standard specifications, the 0.1% and 0.5% w/w vanillin-added materials can still be used due to their acceptable values of all physical properties (setting time, working time, elastic recovery, and strain-in compression). These impression materials will be valuable for use in clinical settings to reduce the disinfection procedure and the risk of cross-contamination.