Radiopacity of Dental Materials: An Overview

Abstract

Context: This study aimed to provide an overview of the literature on the radiopacity of materials in order to emphasize its importance. Evidence Acquisition: English-language literature was investigated using manual and electronic searches for the terms radiopacity, dental material, cement, composite, ceramic, root canal sealer, graft, and acrylic resin in the databases of Medline, google scholar, and Scopus up to April 2016. Seventy-nine selected publications, including review articles, original articles, and books, were evaluated. Results: The radiopacity of different materials may be lower or higher than that of the replaced tissue depending on the restorative material used. The research revealed that highly-radiopaque materials should not be used in restorations, except as bone graft and endodontic root canal filling materials. For most of the restorative materials, moderate radiopacity within the range of the replaced tissue is recommended. However, the lower radiopacity of polymer-based restorative or prosthetic materials is still a significant clinical problem. Conclusions: The author recommends using highly-radiopaque materials whenever possible for treatment of bone defects and root canals. For materials that replace clinical crowns, the radiopacity should be within the range of that of the replaced tooth structure (dentin or enamel). The radiopacity of cements should be much higher than that of the enamel in order to facilitate detection of the thin cement remnants.