Effect of surface treatment of ethylene vinyl acetate on the delamination of custom‐fitted mouthguards

Background/Aim Contamination of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) during mouthguard fabrication can cause delamination. The study evaluated the effects of different EVA surface treatments on the contact angle, laminate bond strength, and elongation capacity. Materials and Methods Specimens of two bonded EVA plates were prepared (n = 30). The Shore A hardness of standardized EVA plate specimens was measured before and after thermo‐plasticization. The EVA plates were randomly allocated to one of five different surface treatment groups: no treatment (control); isopropyl alcohol, 100%; chloroform, 99.8%; self‐cure acrylic resin monomer (methacrylate, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, and chemical initiator—amine type); and ethyl alcohol, 70%. The maximum breaking force and elongation at the site of fracture were recorded using a universal testing machine. The contact angle surface was measured using ImageJ software. Scanning electron microscopy of the EVA surface was performed. The laminate bond strength was obtained by dividing the maximum breaking force by the bonding area between the two EVA plates. The laminate bond strength and maximum elongation data were analyzed by one‐way ANOVA, followed by the Tukey's and the Dunnet test. The failure mode data was analyzed using the chi‐square test (α = .05). Results EVA surface treatment significantly influenced the laminate bond strength and maximum elongation (p