Purpose: To investigate the influence of different cleaning methods for additively manufactured fixed dental prostheses (FDPs) for long-term temporary use on the degree of conversion (DC), surface roughness, Martens parameters, and biaxial flexural strength.
Materials and methods: A total of 180 specimens per material (3Delta Etemp, DeltaMed; Freeprint Temp, Detax; Temp PRINT, GC Europe; Temp C&B and C&B MFH, NextDent; N = 180) were additively manufactured (D20 II, Rapid Shape) and subsequently cleaned by different methods: by rinsing for 5 minutes in acetone (Höfer Chemie; 99.5%); butyl glycol (Algin Chemie; 100%); ethanol (Otto Fischar; 96%); isopropanol (SAV LP; 100%); Yellow Magic 7 (Bradley Systems; 100%); or by applying centrifugal force for 4 minutes (n = 30 per subgroup). After postpolymerization (Otoflash G171, NK-Optik), the DC was measured using Raman spectroscopy, and the surface roughness, as well as the Martens parameters, were recorded. Biaxial flexural strength was investigated after artificial aging (thermocycling for 10,000 cycles). Data were statistically analyzed (Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Kruskal-Wallis, and Mann-Whitney U tests, and Pearson correlation coefficient).
Results: The highest DC was recorded after the use of butyl glycol or isopropyl (P < .001 to P = .047). The highest surface roughness was measured after the use of butyl glycol (P < .001 to P = .024). The use of centrifugal force or Yellow Magic resulted in the highest Martens parameter values (P < .001 to P = .036) and the highest biaxial flexural strength (P < .001 to P = .013), while acetone and butyl glycol led to the lowest values.
Conclusion: The use of centrifugal force and Yellow Magic resulted in the highest Martens parameter values and the highest biaxial flexural strength. Concerning Yellow Magic, no negative effect on the mechanical properties was observed. The 3Delta Etemp material especially was prone to degradation after chemical cleaning.
