METHODS: Short-answer and forced-choice surveys were distributed over a four-year period to dental, dental hygiene, and dental assisting students who had multiple alginate impressions as part of their routine coursework at three different dental schools. Jeltrate Plus Antimicrobial alginate (Dentsply International Inc., Milford, DE) was used at two schools, while the third used Imprint alginate (Dental Products of India Ltd., Mumbai, India). Anonymous surveys were given to 292 students.
RESULTS: Responses were received from 273 students (overall response rate = 93%). Six surveys were incomplete and discarded, leaving 266 valid responses. Respondents reported a total of 2080 impression experiences, with an average of 7.8 per person, evenly divided between the maxillary and mandibular arches. Adverse reactions were reported by 100 respondents (38%), including various combinations of vesicles (n=59, 22%), dry sore lips (n=54, 20%), sloughing (n=15, 6%), and other reactions (n=39, 15%). Reactions lasted an average of 3.7 days, and were more likely to occur with a greater number of impressions (p<.001), use of a tray disinfectant (p<.01), and in dental hygiene students (p<.001). No relationship was shown to a history of allergies or alginate type.
CONCLUSIONS: Further research is necessary to determine the exact cause of these reactions.