A comparative study of solubility between resin cement and self-adhesive resin cement

Abstract

Resin cements have been largely used for luting indirect restorations due to their bonding abilities to the tooth structures and the increase of the restorations stability; however their solubility can negatively affect the restoration durability. The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate and to compare water solubility values of conventional resin cement with self-adhesive resin cement according to ISO 4049 specification. 
Two commercial dental luting cement materials were selected: Conventional resin cement (Resicem™ /Shofu) and self-adhesive resin cement (Total Cem, Itena). Ten discs were prepared of each cement material. The discs were made according to the manufacturer’s instructions using a cylindrical teflon mold of 5 mm inner diameter and 2 mm thickness. The discs were weighed on a precision weight scale to record their individual baseline weight (w1), measured by a digital caliper to record their volume (v), then immersed in 10mm distilled water at 37°C and 50rpm. After that, the specimens were desiccated then weighed (w2) at different interval periods (1, 14, 30 and 90 days). The solubility value was obtained based on the equation: Solubility = (w1-w2) / v. Collected data was statistically analyzed for significant differences by one-way ANOVA (p=0.05). The mean solubility value (μg/mm3) obtained after 90 days was 3.86±0.36 for Resicem™ and 12.93 ±1.33 for Total Cem. Within the limitations of this in vitro study, the conventional resin cement showed the highest resistance to solubility compared to the self-adhesive resin cement.