The Mechanism of Formation of Glass-Ionomer Cement: A Theoretical Study

A resin-modified glass-ionomer cement (RMGIC) was studied from a computational point of view. We suggest terpolymer formation by reaction of fixation through a combination of acrylic acid (AA), itaconic acid (IA) and an aminoacid derivative (AAD) in different positions. We found that AAD-AA-IA is thermodynamically more stable, but AA-IA-AAD is the combination which can react with glycidyl methacrylate (GM) to form a grafted polymer with two pendant methacrylate groups which can be used later in the process of light-curing. A RMGIC contains a glass powder of calcium-fluoroaluminosilicate acting as the source of cross linking, and for this reason, we have optimized two intramolecular Al3+ tricarboxylate complexes (salt-bridges) formed from the most stable grafted polymers. A possible reaction mechanism for the addition of (GM) to copolymer is proposed.

The Evaluation of a Resin-modified Glass Ionome Cement for Bonding Orthodontic Brackets

To evaluate the shear bond strength（SBS） and bond failure interface after the debonding of orthodontic brackets with a resin-modified glass ionomer cement（RMGIC） under six bonding conditions, 140 premolar teeth were randomly divided into seven groups. The brackets of all groups, except for control group, were bonded using a RMGIC. The teeth were debonded using a universal testing machine. The shear bond strength, adhesive remnant index （ARI） and enamel fracture were examined for each debonding. A significant difference existed in SBS under wet and dry conditions in two groups of Fuji Ortho LC. Different degree of enamel fracture was seen in groups of Fuji Ortho LC（dry/37% phosphoric acid treated） after debonding. Bond failed predominantly at the enamel-adhesive interface, except for phosphoric acid treated groups. The RMGIC achieve a clinically effective adhesion in orthodontics under different bonding conditions.

A PQAS-containing glass-ionomer cement for improved antibacterial function

The novel non-leachable poly (quaternary ammonium salt) (PQAS)-containing antibacterial glass- ionomer cement has been developed. Compressive strength (CS) and S. mutans viability were used as tools for strength and antibacterial activity evaluations, respectively. All the specimens were conditioned in distilled water at 37?C prior to testing. Commercial glass-ionomer cement Fuji II LC was used as control. With PQAS addition, the studied cements showed a reduction in CS with 25-95% for Fuji II LC and 13-78% for the experimental cement and a reduction in S. mutans viability with 40-79% for Fuji II LC and 40-91% for the experimental cement. The experimental cement showed less CS reduction and higher antibacterial activity as compared to Fuji II LC. The long-term aging study indicates that the cements are permanently antibacterial with no PQAS leaching. It appears that the experimental cement is a clinically attractive dental restorative that can be potentially used for long- lasting restorations due to its high mechanical strength and permanent antibacterial function.

Preparation and evaluation of a novel antibacterial glass-ionomer cement

A novel antibacterial glass-ionomer cement has been developed. Compressive strength (CS) and S. mutans viability were used to evaluate the mechanical strength and antibacterial activity of the formed cement. Compressive yield strength (YS), modulus (M), diametral tensile strength (DTS) and flexural strength (FS) were also determined. All the formulated antibacterial cements showed a significant antibacterial activity, accompanying with an initial CS reduction. The effect of the synthesized antibacterial polymer loading was significant. Increasing loading from 1% to 20% significantly decreased the S. mutans viability from 3% to 50% and also reduced the initial CS (325 MPa) of the formed cements from 19% to 75%. The cement with 5% antibacterial polymer loading showed 142 MPa, 6.9 GPa, 224 MPa, 52 MPa, and 62 MPa in YS, M, CS, DTS and FS, respectively, as compared to 170, 7.1, 325, 60 and 87 for the experimental cement without antibacterial polymer addition and 141, 6.9, 236, 42 and 53 for Fuji II LC. It was also found that the chlorine-containing antibacterial cement showed better CS values than the bromine-containing cement, with no significant difference in antibacterial activity. The antibacterial cement also showed a similar antibacterial activity to Streptococcus mutans, lactobacillus, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. The human saliva did not affect the antibacterial activity of the cement. The thirty-day aging study indicates that the cements may have a long-lasting antibacterial function.

MICROLEAKAGE OF CLASS V RESIN-MODIFIED GLASS IONOMER CEMENT AND COMPOMER RESTORATIONS IN VITRO

Objective To assess the microleakage of Class V restorations made with two resin-modified glass ionomer cements （RMGICs） and two polyacid-modified composite resins （PMCRs）. Methods Restorations of the four materials （ GC Fuji Ⅱ LC, Vitremer^TM, Dyract AP and F2000^TM ） were placed in facial Class V cavity preparations in forty noncarious human molar teeth. Teeth were randomly assigned to 4 experimental groups of 10 teeth each. After thermal cycling（ ×20, 5 -55℃ ） , the interface between dentin and restorations was spattercoated with gold and observed under scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. Then the square and average width of margin gaps of central 1/3 interface were recorded with image analysis software. Results The data indicated no significant differences between all the restorative materials for both occlusal and gingival margins. Further analysis revealed there were statistically significant differences between occlusal margins and gingival margins for VitremerTM and Dyract AP, respectively. Conclusion None of the tested materials guaranteed margins free of microleakage. Resin-modified glass ionomer cements showed similar margin gaps to the polyacid-modified composite resins tested.

Effect of anti-biofilm glass–ionomer cement on Streptococcus mutans biofilms

Dental restorative materials with antimicrobial properties can inhibit bacterial colonization, which may result in a reduction of caries at tooth-filling interaction zones. This study aimed to develop antibacterial glass-ionomer cements （GIC） containing a quaternary ammonium monomer （dimethylaminododecyl methacrylate, DMADDM）, and to investigate their effect on material performance and antibacterial properties. Different mass fractions （0, 1.1% and 2.2%） of DMADDM were incorporated into the GIC. The flexure strength, surface charge density, surface roughness and fluoride release were tested. A Streptococcus mutans biofilm model was used. Exopolysaccharides （EPS） staining was used to analyze the inhibitory effect of DMADDM on the biofilm matrix. In addition, biofilm metabolic activity, lactic acid metabolism and the expression of glucosyltransferase genes g/fB, gtfC and gtfD were measured. GIC containing 1.1% and 2.2% DMADDM had flexural strengths matching those of the commercial control （P〉0.1）. DMADDM was able to increase the surface charge density but reduced surface roughness （P〈0.05）. The incorporation of 1.1% and 2.2% DMADDM elevated the release of fluoride by the GIC in the first 2 days （P〈0.05）. The novel DMADDM-modified GIC significantly reduced biofilm metabolic activity （P〈 0.05） and decreased lactic acid production （P〈 0.05）. The quantitative polymerase chain reaction （qPCR） results showed that the expression of gtfB, g/fC and gtfD decreased when mass fractions of DMADDM increased （P〈0.05）. EPS staining showed that both the bacteria and EPS in biofilm decreased in the DMADDM groups. The incorporation of DMADDM could modify the properties of GIC to influence the development of S. mutans biofilms. In this study, we investigated the interface properties of antibacterial materials for the first time. GIC containing DMADDM can improve material performance and antibacterial properties and may contribute to the better management of secondary caries.

Synthesis and application of a novel star-hyperbranched poly(acrylic acid) for improved dental restoratives

A new star-hyperbranched poly(acrylic acid) has been synthesized and incorporated into dental glassionomer cement for enhanced mechanical strengths. The effects of arm number and branching on viscosity of the polymer aqueous solution and mechanical strengths of the formed experimental cement were evaluated. It was found that the higher the arm number and the more the branching, the lower the viscosity of the polymer solution as well as the mechanical strengths of the formed cement. It was also found that the experimental cement exhibited significantly higher mechanical strengths than commercial Fuji II LC. The experimental cement was 51% in CS, 55% in compressive modulus, 118% in DTS, 82% in FS, 18% in FT and 85% in KHN higher than Fuji II LC. The experimental cement was only 6.7% of abrasive and 10% of attritional wear depths of Fuji II LC in each wear cycle. It appears that this novel experimental cement is a clinically attractive dental restorative and may potentially be used for high-wear and high-stress-bearing site restorations.

A High-Strength Cement System for Improved Dental Restoratives

We have developed and studied a novel high-strength glass-ionomer cement system composed of poly(acrylic acid) with different molecular architectures. These poly(acrylic acid) polymers were synthesized via ATRP technique. The effects of arm number and branching on reaction kinetics, viscosity, and mechanical strengths of the formed polymers and cements were evaluated. The results showed that unlike the star-shaped polymer synthesis both hyperbranched and star-hyperbranched polymers syntheses proceed slowly at the early stage but accelerate at the later stage. The higher the arm number and initiator concentration are, the faster the ATRP reaction was. It was also found that the higher the arm number and branching that the polymer had, the lower the viscosity of the polymer aqueous solution is and the lower the mechanical strengths of the formed cement are. The mechanical strengths of three synthesized polymers-composed experimental cements were very similar to each other but much higher than those of Fuji II LC. The experimental cements were 31% - 53% in CS, 37% - 55% in compressive modulus, 80% - 126% in DTS, 76% - 94% in FS, 4% - 21% in FT and 53% - 96% in KHN higher than Fuji II LC. For wear test, the experimental cements were only 5.4% - 13% of abrasive and 6.4% - 12% of attritional wear depths of Fuji II LC in each wear cycle. The one-month aging study also showed that all the experimental cements increased their CS continuously during 30 days, unlike Fuji II LC.

In vitro responses of human pulp cells and 3T3 mouse fibroblasts to six contemporary dental restoratives

In vitro responses of human primary pulp cells (HPCs) and 3T3 mouse fibroblasts to six contempo-rary commercial dental restoratives were evaluated using the WST-1 assay. The results show that Fuji II is not cytotoxic to both cells. Fuji II LC is not cyto-toxic to HPCs but cytotoxic to 3T3 cells, indicating that 3T3 cells are more vulnerable to 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) than HPCs. Vitremer is very cytotoxic probably due to having diphenyliodonium chloride and HEMA in it. Z100 is very cytotoxic probably due to having triethylene glycol dimethacry-late (TEGDMA) in it. P60 is cytotoxic but less cyto-toxic than Z100 probably due to no TEGDMA in it. Durelon is the most cytotoxic among the six materials studied probably due to the high cytotoxicity of zinc ions. Additionally, the cytotoxcity of the tested mate-rials was found to be dose-dependent.

A Novel Open C-shaped Molar Band for Orthodontic Applications： Mechanical Characterizations and Clinical Trials

To evaluate the retention properties of the novel ‘C＇-shaped molar bands at a laboratory level. Resin-modified glass ionomer cement（RMGIC） was used as a luting agent for the novel C-shaped molar band. The mechanical properties of the band were examined and the retention performance was characterized in the mesial, distal and vertical directions. A clinical trial was conducted using a spilt-mouth design on 50 patients. The novel C-shaped molar bands fit most molars without a repeated try-in process.The use of both nanoHA coating and RMGIC enhanced the tensile（8.00 ± 1.8 MPa） and shear strengths（27.17 ± 8.6 MPa） of the molar bands, leading to high retention in vertical, mesial and distal directions（ p 〈 0.001）. In clinical trials, the C-shaped molar bands had a failure rate（15%） comparable to that of traditional bands, and 93% of the failed bands demonstrated an adhesive remnant index score of 0, corroborating the observation that no luting agent residue remained on the tooth surface in most cases. The novel C-shaped molar bands appear to be a promising appliance that requires further clinical investigations, and may be used effectively in orthodontics.