The Effect of the Thermopress Curing Technique on the Water Sorption and Solubility of the Cold and Heat–Cured Acrylic Resins

Aims: This study aims to evaluate the effect of the thermopress curing technique on the water sorptionand solubility of the coldcured and heatcured acrylic resins and compared this technique with thebench curing technique used for the coldcured resin and with the conventional water bath curing techniquefor the heatcured resin. Materials and Methods: they were to measure the water sorption andsolubility, the specimens were prepared as disks with a dimension according to the ADA SpecificationNo. 12. So specimens were divided into five groups depending on the type of the resin ( cold and heatcured ) methods of curing which were ( thermopress, conventional water bath and bench cure ) and thetime of curing cycle. Specimens were weighed before and after immersion in the distilled water andafter drying with silica gel using an electronic balance to measure the water sorption and solubility.One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Duncan , s multiple range test was performed todetermined the significant different between the mean values among the tested groups at (p< 0.05)level of significance. Results: There is a significant differences between the water sorption and solubilityof resin that cured by the different curing methods and different curing cycle times. The watersorption and solubility of resin specimens that cured by thermopress have the higher values. Conclusions:The water sorption and solubility of the cold and heatcured acrylic resins is affected by the curingmethod. The curing under higher pressure produces specimens with lower water sorption and solubilityvalues.