A Novel Glass Ionomer Cement With Silver Zeolite for Restorative Dentistry

Objectives: To develop a novel silver zeolite glass ionomer cement (SZ-GIC) and determine its biocompatibility, physical, adhesive and antibacterial properties.
Methods: Silver nitrate and sodium zeolite were used to synthesize silver zeolite (SZ). SZ-GIC were prepared by incorporating 1% SZ into the glass ionomer cement (GIC) by weight. The SZ-GIC were characterized by assessing its surface morphology, topography, and elemental composition. The biocompatibility, physical, adhesive and antibacterial properties of SZ-GIC were assessed. GIC was used as control.
Results: Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results showed that SZ was three-dimensional crystalline minerals. SZ-GIC showed similar surface morphology and topography to GIC. SZ-GIC and GIC had no significant difference in cell cytotoxicity and setting time (p>0.05). The compressive strength of SZ-GIC and GIC were 164.20±18.46 and 133.57±23.56 MPa, respectively (p=0.02). The flexural strength of SZ-GIC and GIC were 26.04±1.72 and 20.54±2.46 MPa, respectively(p=0.03). The water sorption of SZ-GIC and GIC were 27.13±2.15 and 31.49±2.76 µg/mm³, respectively (p=0.003). The solubility of SZ-GIC and GIC were 1.61±0.02 and 3.54±1.93 µg/mm³, respectively (p=0.02). The micro-tensile bond strength to dentine of SZ-GIC and GIC were 6.07±1.76 and 3.75±0.90 MPa, respectively (p=0.008). The Log₁₀ CFUs of SZ-GIC and GIC were 7.31±0.17 and 8.45±0.21, respectively (p=0.001). SEM images showed SZ-GIC had less biofilm coverage compared to GIC.
Conclusions: This study was conducted to develop a novel silver zeolite glass ionomer cement with biocompatibility. The silver zeolite glass ionomer cement has superior physical, adhesive and antibacterial properties than glass ionomer cement.