CYTOTOXICITY OF COMPONENTS OF RESINS AND OTHER DENTAL RESTORATIVE MATERIALS

Cytotoxicity testing of dental restorative materials must be viewed as an assessment of hazards, that is the potential of the material to ca use pulpal problems. In this context, composites, glass ionomers, amal gams, zinc-based cements and peroxide bleaching agents are all possibl e hazards to the pulp. The risks that these materials will cause pulpa l toxicity in vivo can be partly estimated by assessing the cytotoxici ty of the substances which are released from these materials in vitro and comparing these cytotoxic concentrations with those concentrations that are present in vivo. The resin components of composites, metal i ons and hydrogen peroxide, all of which are released from dental resto rative materials, have been shown to be cytotoxic in vitro in sufficie nt concentrations. The potencies of these substances are quite diverse . However, the cytotoxicity of these substances in usage tests, and th erefore the risks of pulpal toxicity, depends on their ability to diff use through the dentine and accumulate in the pulp.