Composite resin with continuous fluoride release helps reduce secondary decay

The team of researchers from the Department of prosthodontics, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of medicine; College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; National Center for Stomatology; National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology, China described the synthesis and investigated the fluoride release, antibacterial property and cytotoxicity of the novel composite resin.

Fluorine-doped nano-zirconia powders with different fluorine contents were synthesized by chemical precipitation method and characterized by XRD, SEM and TEM-EDS.

The content and release of fluoride were also determined. 20% Fluorine-doped nano-zirconia powers were selected to develop the novel composite resins. The fluoride release from the novel composite resins during 28 days was recorded. The antibacterial property of the novel composite resins was investigated with direct contact test (DCT) and metabolic activity test (CCK8). The cytotoxicity of the composite resins was also evaluated here.

The following findings were noted-

a. Fluorine-doped nano-zirconia powders with different fluorine contents were obtained.

b. The fluoride release increased with increasing of the fluoride content.

c. Through the antibacterial performance evaluation, 20% fluorine-doped nano-zirconia powders, which exhibiting the best antibacterial property, were selected as the fillers for preparing the novel composite resin.

d. The novel composite resin with fluorine-doped nano-zirconia fillers exhibited an effective antibacterial effect.

e. Compared with the control group, the antibacterial rates for the different composite resins used were 51.65%, 54.14% and 66.80% (p<0.05), respectively.

f. No obvious cytotoxicity of the novel composite resin was detected in this study.

As a result, the authors concluded that the novel composite resin with continuous fluoride release and proper antibacterial property is expected to be used as an antibacterial material to reduce secondary caries.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdent.2021.103772