Elaboration and Characterization of β-TCP/ZrO2 Cements for Dental Applications

Abstract

In the present study, four β-TCP/ZrO2 cement compositions were made, in which the zirconia was varied in different amounts at 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1 wt%. The goals of this investigation were: (i) To analyze the effect of the mechanical properties of zirconia on the different samples of cement, (ii) To evaluate in vitro formation of hydroxyapatite in all cements at different times dipping in artificial saliva, and (iii) To analyze the interaction of glass-ionomer type I in all β-TCP/ZrO2 cement compositions. The results found were that the amount of zirconia added to the cement compositions did not significantly affect the mechanical properties’ values compared to the sample without zirconia. Nevertheless, ZrO2 helped to stabilize the demineralization of the types of cement in contact with artificial saliva at different times. On the other hand, the glass ionomer type I used to link the powder cement caused a change in the mechanical behavior, enhancing the plasticity in all the cement compositions. The in vitro test allowed an analysis of the cement samples dipping in artificial saliva, which showed a decrease of pH value from 7 to 3.8 at three days. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT