ISSN: 1812–1217

The effects of drying techniques on the

compr-essive strength of gypsum products

Radhwan H Hasan Department of Prosthetic Dentistry

BDS, MSc (Assist Lect) College of Dentistry, University of Mosul

Kasim A Mohammad Department of Conservative Dentistry

BDS, MSc (Assist Lect) College of Dentistry, University of Mosul

ABSTRACT
Excess water in set dental stone decreases its strength.
So different methods were used to expel excess water but the
compressive strength may be affected by drying technique.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the compressive str-
ength of two types of set dental stone after air, conventional
oven and microwave drying techniques.
A total of 60 stone specimens (30 specimens made from
Silky Rock stone and 30 Zeta stone) were prepared by the aid
of an acrylic split mold according to ADA Specification No.
25. Specimens were divided into six groups of 10 identical
specimens for each. Then groups were either dried by air,
conventional oven or microwave oven. Using Unconfined
Compression Machine, the specimens were loaded by a cross
head speed of 1 mm/minute till the specimen being fractured.
The load required to fracture the stone specimens was record-
ed and analyzed using analysis of variance followed by Dun-
can’s Multiple Range Test for the statistical comparisons bet-
ween drying techniques at a significance level of p< 0.05, and
Student’s t–test was used to compare between the two stone
types.
The results revealed that high significant differences
were present between the different drying techniques
(p<0.0001) with air dried specimens were significantly stron-
ger than others and microwave dried specimens were signifi- Hasan RH, Mohammad KA.
cantly stronger than conventional oven dried specimens. Silky The effects of drying techni-
Rock (type IV) stone was significantly stronger than Zeta ques on the compressive str-
(type III) stone (p<0.001). ength of gypsum products.
From this study, it could be concluded that the highest Al–Rafidain Dent J. 2005;
compressive strength can be obtained by air drying of the sto- 5(1): 63-68.
ne for 24 hours, while microwave drying technique give bet-
Received:
ter results than conventional oven drying technique with the
27/10/2004
advantage of time saving over the two other drying techni- Sent to Referees:
ques. 1/11/2004
Key Words: Compressive strength, dental stone, microwave Accepted for Publication:
drying. 20/2/2005

INTRODUCTION in many laboratory procedures.(1) The

Although they are not directly used as working model (cast) is a replica of oral st-
dental restorative materials, gypsum prod- ructures on which an appliance or restora-
ucts are important adjunctive materials used tion is made. So it must possess enough st-

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 Hasan RH, Mohammad KA

rength and abrasion resistance as it will be diameter in accordance to ADA Specifica-

subjected to the stresses of carving and fi- tion No. 25(7) for dental gypsum products.
nishing procedures.(2) A type III dental sto-
ne and high strength dental stones are able
to withstand most of the manipulative pro-
cedures involved in production of applia-
nces and restorations.(3) Gypsum products
when mixed with water set to form hard
mass, the actual amount of water required
for mixing is greater than the amount nec-
essary for the chemical reaction. So the
water that remains after the completion of
the chemical reaction is called excess wa-
ter which definitely affect the strength of
set product as when specimen has been
dried the dry strength may be two or more
time the wet strength.(3, 4) Figure (1): The acrylic split mold
The one hour after mixing compre- with two stone cylindrical samples
ssive strength is a measure of wet strength,
while gypsum may take as long as 7 days Regarding preparation of the acrylic
to dry. For practical purposes, stone casts split mold, two metal cylinders (with 40
would reach sufficient hardness after 24 mm height and 20 mm diameter) were pre-
hours.(5) There is no improvement in abra- pared using computerized milling mach-
sion resistance between 24 hours and 7 da- ine. A metal box–shape container with di-
ys air dryness.(6) mensions of 40 mm height, 50 mm width
Stone manufacturers advised to wait and 80 mm length (without roof and floor)
24–48 hours before manipulating gypsum was made. The metal cylinders and the
casts. However, sometimes it may be inco- metal box were painted with a thin layer of
nvenient to wait such a long time, dentist Vaseline separating material to permit ea-
often find it necessary to manipulate the sy separation of the wax pattern. The
cast as soon as possible after they poured. metal box then fixed on a glass slab and
Unfortunately, these wet casts possess ins- the two metal cylinders were also fixed
ufficient strength and surface hardness to vertically on the glass slab inside the metal
withstand the manipulative procedures box with a same longitudinal line at the
without being fractured or distorted.(2) middle of the metal box. Dental wax (TP
Conventional hot air oven and mic- Regular, Major, Italy) was melted in a
rowave oven had been used in an attempt thermostati-cally controlled bath machine
to shorten the drying time. Although dry- (KAVO GmbH, Germany) at 65ºC, then
ing gypsum products in a microwave oven poured in the metal box around the metal
can save considerable time, however there cylinders until the box completely filled
are little researches on the strength of gyp- with wax. Then another glass slab was put
sum material dried in this manner.(2) Ther- on the top surface of the box immediately
efore, it was the objective of this study to after wax pouring before hardening to
evaluate the compressive strength of diffe- ensure smooth and flat surface of the wax
rent dental stones using air, conventional pat-tern.
oven and microwave oven drying techniq- After hardening of the wax, the wax
ues. pattern easily separated from the metal
box, and the two metal cylinders also
sepa-rated form the wax pattern. By using
MATERIALS AND METHODS disse-cting knife, the wax pattern was
In this study, an acrylic split mold bisected longitudinally into two identical
(Figure 1) was designed and constructed parts to produce wax pattern of a split
for the purpose of the preparation of a sto- mold. The two “wax” parts of the split
ne samples with 40 mm height and 20 mm mold were fla-sked, wax eliminated and
packed with heat cured acrylic resin

64 Al–Rafidain Dent J
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 Drying technique and gypsum compressive strength

(Major Base 2, Major, Italy) and cured Two types of dental stone, Silky Rock
according to manufactu-rer’s instructions. (Whip mix, Louis Ville, Kentucky, USA)
Then two holes were dr-illed transversely and Zeta (Industria Zingardi, Italy) were
(one at each side of the acrylic split mold) evaluated for the effect of drying techni-
permitting the fixation of the two parts que on the compressive strength. The sto-
together by the aid of two Teflon ne types and their powder/liquid ratios as
(Trademark, Bayer, Germany) ma-de recommended by their manufacturers are
screws and nuts to ensure correct align- listed in Table (1).
ment of the mold parts throughout the pro-
cess of stone pouring.

Table (1): The tested dental stones and their powder/liquid ratios
Powder/Water
Product Type Batch No. Manufacturer
Ratio gm/ml
Whip mix,
Silky Rock IV 100/23 7546 Louis Ville,
Kentucky, USA
Industria Zingardi,
Zeta III 100/31 GSGIA0701
Italy

The recommended powder was ad- for 15 minutes at 80 watts.(9, 10) A beaker
ded to the water in a rubber bowl and with 400 ml of water was placed in the
hand–mixed for 1 minute to a smooth con- microwave oven as a heat sink when sam-
sistency.(4) To reduce porosity, the dental ples were microwaved to protect the mag-
stone was placed on dental vibrator netron of the oven.(11)
(BEGO, Germany) for 30 seconds to expel Testing then was employed by an Un-
air bubbles from the slurry. The assembled confined Compression Machine (Inc, Mo-
acrylic mold was placed on glass slab and del CN 472, EVANSTON Ill–USA), with
the mixed stone was poured into the acry- 2000 Kg proving ring at a cross head spe-
lic mold. Vibrator was used during pour- ed of 1 mm/minute (Figure 2), and maxi-
ing to get rid of air bubble incorporation mum reading before the sample being fail-
within the poured stone. Immediately after ed or fractured was recorded and divided
pouring, another glass slab was placed at by 3.14 which is the surface area of the
the top surface of the mold in order to get stone cylinder base and top that is subjec-
flat and parallel ends. After 20 minutes, ted to the testing force (load in Kg/surface
the glass slabs were removed and the mold area in cm2), and the resultant value repr-
was dissembled carefully and the stone cy- esenting the compressive strength of that
linders were easily separated from the mo- sample in Kg/cm2.
ld (Figure 1).
A total of 60 cylindrical stone sam-
ples were prepared, 30 samples from each
stone type, 10 samples were used for each
dryness method.
For air dried groups, the samples we-
re left to be dried in air at 20 + 2 °C for 24
hours before testing. For conventional ov-
en drying, 50 minutes after pouring they
were placed in the oven (Memmert S 25,
Germany) at 200 °F for 1 hour.(8) While for
microwave drying method, 50 minutes after
pouring the samples were placed in the
microwave oven (Panasonic NN–GX 36 Figure (2): Loading the stone sample by
WF, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, Ltd) the Unconfined Compression Machine

Al–Rafidain Dent J 65
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 Hasan RH, Mohammad KA

The data were statistically analyzed RESULTS

using analysis of variance (ANOVA) foll- The mean and standard deviation of
owed by Duncan’s Multiple Range Test to the load required to produce failure for ea-
compare between drying techniques, and ch tested group were calculated and listed
Student’s t–test was used to compare bet- in Table (2).
ween the two stone types.

Table (2): The mean and standard deviation for the

compressive strength of the tested groups
Tested Groups N Mean (Kg/cm2) + SD
Air Dried Silky Rock 10 465 + 38
Air Dried Zeta 10 396 + 69
Conventional Oven Dried Silky Rock 10 195 + 27
Conventional Oven Dried Zeta 10 161 + 47
Microwave Oven Dried Silky Rock 10 364 + 62
Microwave Oven Dried Zeta 10 243 + 20
N: Number of specimens; SD: Standard deviation.

For the effects of drying techniques, ecimens (178 + 40 Kg/cm2) as shown in

ANOVA indicated that there were high Table (3) and Figure (3).
significant differences among groups (p< Student’s t–test was used to compare
0.0001). Duncan’s Multiple Range Test between the two stone types, and indicated
indicated that air dried stone specimens that Silky Rock stone specimens (341 +
(431 + 64 Kg/cm2) was significantly more 122 Kg/cm2) possessed significantly high-
resistant to compressive loading than other er compressive strength (p< 0.001) than
groups. Microwave dried stone specimens Zeta specimens (267 + 111 Kg/cm2) as sh-
(303 + 77 Kg/cm2) was significantly stron- own in Table (4).
ger than conventional oven dried stone sp-

Table (3): Analysis of variance and Duncan’s Multiple Range Test for the effect
of curing technique on the compressive strength of dental stone
Source df SS MS F–value P–value
Between groups 5 443500.139 88700.028 39.961 0.000
Within groups 54 66589.500 2219.650
Total 59 510089.639
df: Degree of freedom, SS: Sum of squares, MS: Mean square.

Duncan’s
Drying Technique N Mean (Kg/cm2) +SD
Grouping
Air Drying 20 431 + 64 A
Conventional Oven Drying 20 178 + 40 C
Microwave Drying 20 303 + 77 B
N: Number of specimens; SD: Standard deviation.
Groups that have similar letters are not significantly different from each other.

66 Al–Rafidain Dent J
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 Drying technique and gypsum compressive strength

450
400
350
300
Load (Kg/cm2) 250
200
150
100
50
0
Air Conventional Microwave
Drying Techniques

Figure (3): The effect of drying technique on the compressive strength of dental stone
Columns with the same color are not significantly different

Table (4): Mean, standard deviation and Student’s t–test for compressive strength
of Silky Rock and Zeta type stones
Stone Type N Mean (Kg/cm2) + SD t–value Significance
Silky Rock 30 341 + 122
4.2 0.001
Zeta 30 267 + 111
N: Number of specimens; SD: Standard deviation

DISCUSSION om temperature this allow significant time

To be clinically useful, gypsum mat- to expel the excess water, while in the oth-
erials should possess high compressive str- er studies(2, 9) test was conducted after 2
ength and fracture and abrasion resistan- hours where some excess water present
ce.(9, 12) Generally, the compressive streng- and that may reduce the compressive stre-
th of gypsum products is related to the wa- ngth.
ter/powder ratio, mixing time, free water On other hand, microwave drying te-
content in set product, volume of mixture, chnique showed initial benefits due to
chemical composition, relative humidity, reduced processing times for 15 minutes at
room temperature at which the material is 80 watts. Microwaving is energy conver-
stored and elapsed time after the cast is sion and not conduction heating as in a co-
poured.(13) nventional oven.(12, 13) Microwave absorbe-
The results of the present study show- nt materials such as dental gypsum convert
ed that air dried samples were significantly this energy into endothermic heat with sh-
more resistant to compressive loading than ort time. Also, other studies recommended
those which were dried by microwave te- using of lower power level, as using of hi-
chnique. These findings were in contrast gh power level may lead to decrease in co-
with other studies that reported microwave mpressive strength.(9, 10, 12)
dried samples had significantly more com- The results of this study showed that
pressive strength than those dried by using of conventional oven for drying of
air.(2,9) The scientific cause for such differ- gypsum product for 1 hour give samples
ences in results is the variation in elapsed with significantly lower compressive stre-
time after the sample was poured, where in ngth than other two techniques. The possi-
the present study compressive strength test ble explanation is the temperature inside
was conducted after 24 hours drying at ro- conventional oven elevated rapidly and not

Al–Rafidain Dent J 67
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 Hasan RH, Mohammad KA

gradually. This will lead to rapid boiling 2- Hersek N, Canay S, Akca K, Ciftci Y.
of the free water and rapid water Tensile strength of type IV dental stones
escapement from dental stone causing dried in a microwave oven. J Prosthet
holes and cracks inside the stone and Dent. 2002; 87: 449-502.
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crystallization which would reduce the Louis. 1996; p: 187.
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didn’t affect the mechanical properties of 5- Kaiser DA. A study of distortion and sur-
dental stone IV, where Silky Rock (type face hardness of improved artificial stone
IV dental stone) showed significantly mo- casts. J Prosthet Dent. 1976; 36: 373-380.
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12- Tuncer N, Tufenkcioglu HB, Calikkoca-
oglu S. Investigation on the compressive
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