Dental Luting Agents Flashcards
Why is luting agent a better term than dental cement?
Because all dental cements are luting agents but not all luting agents are dental cements
Give 4 examples of forms of luting cements?
- Dental Cements
- Composite Resins
- Self adhesive composite resins
- Surface modifying chemicals
What are the properties we look at in a luting cement? (9)
- Viscosity and film thickness
- Ease of use
- Radiopaque
- Marginal seal
- Aesthetics
- Solubility
- Cariostatic
- Biocompatible
- Mechanical properties
What is viscosity and film thickness dependent on?
- Dependent on the size of powder or filler particles in the material as well as the flow characteristics of the material itself
What do we want the film thickness to be like in luting agents?
- Must be low to allow seating of the restoration without interference
- The cement must allow the restoration to seat fully on your preparation
- Film thickness should be as thin as possible ideally 25um or less
What do we want the viscosity to be like in luting agents?
- Viscosity increases as material sets -> must seat restoration quickly and maintain pressure during the setting process
How do we make luting agents easy to mix? (2)
- Many products are encapsulated
- Clicker system
How do we make luting agents easy to use? (3)
- Easy to mix
- Working time should be long to allow for seating of the restoration
- Setting time should be short
Do we want luting agents to be radiopaque or radiolucent?
- Some are radiolucent but we want them to be radiopaque
- Makes it easier to see marginal breakdown or secondary caries
What do we want the marginal seal to be like for a luting agent?
- Ideally the luting agent should bond chemically to the tooth and the indirect restoration with a permanent and impenetrable bond
- Some of the newer materials approach this but nothing quite reaches it yet
What do we want the aesthetics of luting agents to be like? (2)
- Tooth coloured (variation in shade and translucency)
- Non staining
What do we want the solubility of luting agents to be like?
- Low (don’t want the material to be washed away)
How are luting agents cariostatic? (2)
- Fluoride releasing
- Antibacterial
- This is important in preventing secondary caries around crown margins
In order to be biocompatible, what properties should luting agents have? (3)
- Non toxic
- Not damaging to the pulp (inappropriate pH or heat on setting)
- Low thermal conductivity to protect the pulp
What are the ideal mechanical properties of a luting agent? (4)
- High compressive strength
- High tensile strength
- High hardness value
- Young’s modulus similar to tooth
- We want the mechanical properties to be similar to that of a tooth
- No luting agent gets close to tooth values for more than one or two physical properties
Give examples of dental cements? (2)
- Zinc phosphate
- Zinc polycarboxylate
- More historic
Give examples of 2 glass ionomer cements?
- Conventional
- Resin modified
Give examples of composite resin luting agents? (3)
- Total etch for use with DBA
- Self etch
- Requires etch but has own bonding agent incorporated
Look at slides on the components of zinc phosphate cements.
Better to look at slides
What are 3 positives of zinc phosphate cements?
- Excellent clinical service
- Easy to use
- Cheap
What is the role of zinc oxide >90% in the powder of zinc phosphate cements?
- Main reactive ingredient
What is the role of magnesium dioxide <10% in the powder of zinc phosphate cements? (2)
- Gives white colour
- Increases compressive strength