Radiodensity of base, liner and luting dental materials

The aim of this study was to determine the radiodensity of base, liner and luting dental materials and to compare them with human enamel and dentin. Four classes of materials were examined: conventional glass ionomers (CG)-Vitro Cem, Ketac Bond, Vidrion F, Vidrion C; resin-modified glass ionomers (RMGI)-Fuji II LC, Vitrebond; resinous cement (RC)-Rely-X ARC; and zinc phosphate cement (ZP)-Cimento LS. Five 2-mm-thick standard samples of each material and five 2-mm-thick enamel and dentin samples were produced. An aluminum step wedge served as control. Samples were positioned over a phosphor plate of Digora digital system, exposed to X-ray, and the radiodensity obtained in the software Digora for Windows 2.0. Data were submitted to Kruskal-Wallis and Dunnett multiple comparisons test (alpha=0.05). According to statistical analysis, the following sequence in degree of radiodensity could be seen among the groups: Cimento LS (ZP) > Vitro Cem (CG) = Fuji II LC (RMGI) = Rely-X ARC (RC) = Vitrebond (RMGI) > Ketac Bond (CG) > enamel = Vidrion F (CG) > Vidrion C (CG) = dentin. The presence of radiopaque fillers such as zinc, strontium, zirconium, barium, and lanthanium rather than material type seems to be the most important factor when analyzing material radiodensity. Almost all investigated materials presented an accepted radiodensity.