Abstract: Objective To test the effect of alcohol on force decay of elastomeric chains in vitro . Methods Elastomeric chains of close type were divided into five test groups.Three test groups were exposed to different alcohol concentrations (14.0%and 26.9%),mouth rinses (26.9%alcohol and 0%alcohol) and artificial saliva for 60 seconds twice a day.The chains were stretched to produce the initial force of 2.45 N.Then the experiment groups were arranged by the orthogonal design,and the stretched length of different groups of chains were maintained respectively in artificial saliva environment of 37 ℃.The remaining forces of the elastomeric chains were recorded at different moments in 4 weeks.Then the percentage of remaining force was calculated. Results Test groups with the treatment of alcohol/alcoholic mouthwash water had a lower remaining force of the elastomeric chain at each measurement time point and a higher percentage of force degradation than the control groups,and the difference was statistically significant.The force of elastomeric chain gradually decreased over time,under the condition of thermal cycle.The force degradation was the fastest within 24 hours.Force decay percentage increased slightly between 24 hours and 28 days. Conclusions Alcohol can exacerbate the force degradation of elastomeric chain.The force of elastomeric chain stabilized after 24 hours under the condition of thermal cycle.

Key words: elastomeric chain, force degradation, alcohol