Alginates: A review of compositional aspects for dental applications

Alginate is an elastic irreversible hydrocolloid, widely used for recording the impressions of dentulous arches, impressions for making models for diagnostic purposes, and for duplication of casts. Today, their use far exceeds the use of all other impression materials in general dental practice because of their hydrophilicity, ability to record finer details and sufficient elastic recovery. Over the years, several modifications have been done to improve their clinical performance. Modified alginates in form of dust free, self-disinfectant and chromalginate have already been in the clinical practice and have shown their superiority over the conventional alginates. In addition to these modifications, other modifications have been introduced to further improve their clinical acceptance. This review is an overview of the evolution of dental alginate impression materials with an emphasis on the material aspects.