Antibacterial and antifungal properties of polyether impression materials.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial and antifungal properties of polyether impression materials using the agar diffusion test. Three different types of polyether impression materials (P2, Penta Soft and Penta) were tested to determine their ability to inhibit the growth of Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans. The areas of inhibition zones were measured visually with a 0.1-mm incremental Boley gauge. In all groups, none of the samples of the P2 polyether impression material exhibited antibacterial or antifungal activity against any of the microorganisms. All Penta Soft and Penta samples exhibited antibacterial activity against E. faecalis and S. aureus, and only Penta samples exhibited antifungal effect against C. albicans, which decreased progressively as the setting time of the material increased.