Comparative Evaluation of the Remineralizing Effects and Surface Microhardness of Glass Ionomer Cements Containing Bioactive Glass (S53P4): An in vitro Study

Abstract

Dental cements including the glass ionomer cement (GIC) have found widespread use in restoring tooth structures. In this study, modifications of glass ionomer cements (GICs) were made by adding bioactive glass (BAG) to GIC to obtain bioactive restorative materials. This study used polarized light microscopy (PLM) to examine the remineralization effects of the study materials on dentin. It also evaluated the Vickers microhardness of the experimental materials. Experimental glass ionomer cement (GIC)-BAG materials were made by mixing 10 wt% of BAG particles with conventional cure and resin-modified GIC powders. Class V restorations were made in 80 extracted mandibular teeth which included 4 groups of 20 teeth each. 100 |jm sections of the teeth were examined under polarized light microscope after undergoing pH cycling. Materials were also processed into 80 cylindrical specimens and immersed in water for 7 and 30 days before mechanical tests. Resin-modified GIC containing BAG showed a thick uniform layer of mineralization on the restoration-dentin interface. The conventional cure GIC-based materials had higher surface microhardness than the resin-modified materials. SIGNIFICANCE: The addition of BAG to GIC compromises the mechanical properties of the materials to some extent. Thus, their clinical use ought to be restricted to applications where their bioactivity can be beneficial, such as root surface fillings and liners in dentistry.