Effect of medicaments on the kinetic absorbency of retraction cord

Abstract

Background: One of the problems appearing in the process of fixed prosthetic restoration is the accurate impression of the marginal detail so retraction of the gingival sulcus is a management of soft tissue before an impression procedure. Aim: To evaluate the effect of two different medicaments on the kinetic absorbency of retraction cord. Methodology: Ultrapak retraction cord (No. 00) cut into pieces of identical lengths (25 mm) was used. They were immersed in medicaments (Potash Alum and 21% ferric sulphate) for 20 minutes. Artificial saliva was used to simulate the oral environment. The capability of the cords to absorb fluid was measured by a gravimetric method. The data were analyzed by F test analysis, and P < 0.05 was regarded as significant. Results: There was a significant difference in kinetic absorbency of all the three groups (P < 0.01). Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that kinetic absorbency increased when treated with medicaments. Potash alum showed most favourable results.

Keywords

• Gingival sulcus
• medicaments
• retraction cord