The glass polyphosphonate cement: a novel glass-ionomer cement based on poly(vinyl phosphonic acid)

This paper outlines research which aimed to develop a new type of Glass-ionomer cement, the glass polyphosphonate cement. The glass polyalkenoate cement, a form of Glass-ionomer cement, is now widely used in dentistry and is based on the reaction between an ion-leachable aluminosilicate glass and an aqueous solution of poly(acrylic acid) or its copolymers. The new cements described in this paper employ a novel polymer, poly(vinyl phosphonic acid), PVPA, as the acidic component. This is a much stronger acid than those used in the glass polyalkenoate cement, and various means must be employed to moderate the reaction in order to obtain a viable cement. These cements show a number of important differences in performance in comparison with PAA-based systems and these differences are discussed in the paper.