title: Efficacy of high-level microwave disinfection of dental gypsum casts: the effects of number and weight of casts.
abstract: The aim of this study was to determine if the bactericidal effect of microwaving gypsum casts is maintained at maximum capacity of the oven (16 casts). Batches of 8 and 16 gypsum casts made from in vivo impressions were divided in half. One half of each cast was microwaved at 900 W for 5 minutes. The remaining halves were left untreated. When assessed for bacteriological growth, the median cfu/mL of the untreated casts was between 10(5) and 10(6) [corrected] while the microwaved casts showed a cfu/mL of 0, indicating that microwaving as described will disinfect gypsum casts even at maximum capacity of the oven.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Dentistry Department of Oral Sciences-Prosthodontics, University of Bergen, Norway. einar.berg@odont.uib.no
authors.forename: Einar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Berg
authors.forename: Øyunn
authors.initials: Ø
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: Nils
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Skaug
mesh_terms: D002133:Calcium Sulfate; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods*; D008872:Microwaves; D003765:Models, Dental / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D002133:Calcium Sulfate