Abstract
Aim: The aim of this article is to review the literature on the use of antimicrobial additives in glass-ionomer dental cements.Method: An electronic search between 1987 and the end of 2017 was performed using PubMed, Web of Science and Google search engines with the terms glass-ionomer, glass polyalkenoate, antibacterial and antimicrobial as the key words. The search was refined by excluding the majority of references concerned with cement antimicrobial properties only. Extra papers already known to the authors were added to those considered.Results: A total of 92 relevant articles have been cited in the review of which 55 are specifically concerned with the enhancement of antibacterial properties of glass-ionomers, both conventional and resin-modified, with additives. In addition, information is included on the uses of glass-ionomers and the biological properties of the antibacterial additives employed. There are several reports that show that additives are typically released by diffusion, and that a high proportion is usually left behind, trapped in the cement. Additives generally increase setting times of cements, and reduce mechanical properties. However, smaller amounts of additive have only slight effects and the longer-term durability of cements appears unaffected.Conclusion: Modified glass-ionomer cements seem to be acceptable for clinical use, especially in the Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) technique.
Highlights
Glass-ionomer cements are acid-base materials that are widely used in clinical dentistry [1]
The results shown here were obtained with brands of water-activated glass-ionomer cement, AquaKent (Kent Dental, UK) and AquaCem (Dentsply, Germany) that are usually prepared by reacting the powder with pure water, but in this case were activated with aqueous solutions of ionic compounds at a concentration of 1 mol dmÀ3
This review has shown that there are potential clinical advantages in adding antimicrobial compounds to glass-ionomer dental cements, either conventional or resin-modified
Summary
Glass-ionomer cements are acid-base materials that are widely used in clinical dentistry [1]. Glass-ionomers consist of a fine powder of basic glass and a solution of polymeric acid, such as poly(acrylic acid) in water [1]. These formulations are considered to be conventional glass-ionomers and they set by an acid-base reaction that results in the formation of a polysalt. Its basic character is controlled by the ratio of alumina to silica in the glass formulation and is designed so that the finished glass powder can react with the polymer solution to form a hardened material in about 2–3 min
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