Evaluation of Bacterial and Fungal Contamination in Different Brands of Irreversible Hydrocolloid Impression Materials

Background: Alginate is widely used in dental practice, and its contamination may contribute to cross-infection between patients and clinicians and efforts must always be made to mitigate the occurrence. The aim is to assess microbial contamination in five commercially available alginate impression materials. This experimental study was carried out at LASUCOM. 0.05gram of each Alginate pack was collected and cultured on selective and non-selective culture media. Agar plates were incubated aerobically at 37oC for 24hours. Colony forming unit (CFU) were counted and reported while gram staining was performed. Organism identification was done using standard microbiological methods. Data were analyzed using SPSS and presented using mean (STD) and percentage, and multiple ANOVA. Contamination levels for the materials were Elvydent-66.7%; Hygedent-33.3%; Proclinic Chromatic Alginate - 33.3% and Shangchi -33.3%. Asade yielded no growth. The bacteria growth were Staphylococcus Epidermidis and Bacillus sp. The fungi isolated was Aspergillus niger. No significant difference between the level of contaminant isolated across the brands studied. (P=0.7) Four out of the five brands of the alginate impression materials contained viable microorganism and there was no significant difference on level of contaminant isolated from the various brands of alginate