Abstract

CYTOTOXIC EFFECTS OF RESTORATIVE BIOMATERIALS ON DENTAL PULP –A SYSTEMATIZED REVIEW

Dr. Aparna Narvekar, Dr. Andamuthu Sivakumar, Dr. Murali Ramamoorthi

ABSTRACT

Background: The most important cause of pulpal damage due to restorative procedures/ materials is the toxic substances release from the material. Understanding the cytotoxicity and various tests to determine these effects helps in validating and better decision making in day to day dental practice, Objectives: To assess the cytocompatibility of commonly used restorative materials and methods to detect the cytotoxic effects on dental pulp. Methods: An electronic database search [ MEDLINE, EMBASE, PUBMED] complimented by journal database [Elsevier, science direct, SAGE] and manual search was conducted to identify the reviews, systematic reviews and meta-analysis reporting cytotoxic tests or cytotoxic effects of restorative materials pertinent to dental pulp. No language restrictions or date were used initially. Results: The initial search provided 1572 titles, complimented with 285 titles from manual search and journal database. Following the final filtering process 69 studies were finally selected and included in this review. No systematic reviews or meta-analysis were found. Conclusion: Among the various cytotoxicity tests, dentin barrier test and tooth slice culture methods are promising in detecting the cytotoxic effects of the dental materials on pulp. Most of the currently used dental materials are not cyto compatible to pulp if placed directly on pulp or the remaining dentin thickness is less than 0.5mm.

Keywords: Biocompatibility, Dental materials, Invitro test, Cytocompatibility, Cytotoxicity assay, Preclinical tests.