An in vitro Study of the Effect of Spray Disinfectant on the Compressive Strength of Type III Gypsum Product

Abstract

An indirect source of disease transmission is contaminated dental casts. To disinfect dental cast number of methods are employed. Spraying a disinfectant looks more handy and convenient method of disinfecting the cast. However in the process some mechanical properties of the material of the cast may be affected that are not desired. In this study three commercially available spray disinfectant namely-Iodophor, Unidex and Lysol were used to see their effect on the compressive strength of Type III (dental stone) gypsum product. The results were compared and statistically analyzed by one way analysis of Variance and Bonferroni test. It was found that Unidex (2.09% Acid glutarladehyde) affected the compressive strength of the Type III (dental stone) gypsum product in terms of significantly decreasing the strength. Though other two spray disinfectants also affected the compressive strength but Iodophor (1.64% available iodine) caused statistically non significant decrease and Lysol (cresol with soap solution) caused non significant increase in the compressive strength.