Wear and superficial roughness of glass ionomer cements used as sealants, after simulated toothbrushing

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate, in vitro, the properties (wear and roughness) of glass ionomer cements that could influence their indication as pit and fissure sealants. The utilized materials were Fuji Plus, Ketac-Molar and Vitremer (in two different proportions: 1:1 and ¼:1). The resin-based sealant Delton was used as control. By means of an electronic balance (precision of 10-4 g), wear was measured in function of weight loss after simulated toothbrushing. Superficial roughness was determined by means of a surface roughness-measuring apparatus. The results revealed that diluted Vitremer and Fuji Plus were less resistant to toothbrushing abrasion and had the greatest increase in superficial roughness.Although in clinical situations luting or diluted ionomer cements are often utilized as alternatives to resin-based sealants, the resultsof this study revealed that the properties of those cements are worse than those of restorative ionomers, whichpresented results similar to those of the evaluated resin sealant.