{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,16]],"date-time":"2026-05-16T05:39:54Z","timestamp":1778909994988,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,8]],"date-time":"2025-01-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1736294400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Thammasat University Research Fund","award":["TUFT 14\/2567"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["TUFT 14\/2567"]}]},{"name":"Rubber Technology Research Centre (RTEC)","award":["TUFT 14\/2567"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["TUFT 14\/2567"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Polymers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In this study, we aimed to explore the feasibility of utilizing polypropylene (PP) and natural rubber (NR) blends as alternative materials for rubber dam clamps in dentistry. The hardness of various PP\/NR blend ratios was compared to the commercial product SoftClampTM. Selected blend ratios exhibiting hardness values resembling rigid plastic were further evaluated for hardness and tensile strength after undergoing 1, 5, and 10 autoclave cycles. One-way ANOVA test results found that the PP\/NR blends exhibited significantly lower hardness (p &lt; 0.001) than the commercial SoftClampTM. PP\/NR ratios of 100\/0, 90\/10, and 80\/20 exhibited hardness levels equivalent to 82%, 80%, and 75% of SoftClampTM, respectively. Two-way ANOVA revealed significant reductions in hardness (p &lt; 0.001) and tensile strength (p &lt; 0.001) with increasing NR content across all autoclave cycles. However, post-autoclave assessments at 1, 5, and 10 cycles demonstrated no statistically significant differences in tensile strength (p = 0.058) and hardness (p = 0.52) for PP\/NR ratios of 100\/0, 90\/10, and 80\/20 compared to their pre-autoclave states. The NR content within the PP\/NR blends decreased hardness and tensile strength, while autoclaving did not significantly affect the hardness and tensile strength of the PP\/NR blends.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/polym17020143","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,8]],"date-time":"2025-01-08T11:56:22Z","timestamp":1736337382000},"page":"143","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Effect of Repeated Autoclave on Hardness and Tensile Strength of Polypropylene\/Natural Rubber Developed for Rubber Dam Clamp"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Thitaporn","family":"Nonthiphalang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Restorative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Thammasat University, Pathumthani 12121, Thailand"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Panupat","family":"Phumpatrakom","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Endodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Thammasat University, Pathumthani 12121, Thailand"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Paphavarin","family":"Rangsantham","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Endodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Thammasat University, Pathumthani 12121, Thailand"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3373-7378","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Panjaporn","family":"Wongwitthayakool","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Oral Biology, Faculty of Dentistry, Thammasat University, Pathumthani 12121, Thailand"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4019-9216","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chakrit","family":"Sirisinha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Rubber Technology Research Center (RTEC), Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom 73170, Thailand"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nantawan","family":"Krajangta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Restorative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Thammasat University, Pathumthani 12121, Thailand"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"319","article-title":"Rubber dam in endodontics: An overview of recent advances","volume":"6","author":"Ballal","year":"2013","journal-title":"Int. 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