Fluoride release and uptake by glass ionomers

The aim was to study the fluoride release 1) from 7 and 15-month-old glass ionomer specimens after treating them with fluoride; 2) from fresh compared with matured material; and 3) from specimens stored for 29 months in running water. Glass ionomer test specimens which had been in running water for first 7 then 15 months were treated with a 50 ppm fluoride solution after which the specimens were again exposed to running water for first 24 h and then 1 wk. The fluoride release was measured after each of the two periods of time. The fluoride treated specimens released more fluoride than the nontreated ones. This effect was not observed with composite resin specimens which were studied for comparison. Fluoride release from fresh glass ionomer specimens was observed to be 3-10 fold compared to specimens that had matured for 3 days. The release of fluoride from specimens that had been in running water for 29 months was measured and the results were compared with those of earlier measurements. It was found that the release reached a constant level for all tested glass ionomers during the second year.