Radiographic appearance of commonly used cements in implant dentistry

Cement-retained restorations allow for a conventional fixed partial denture approach to restoring dental implants. However, inadequate removal of excess cement at the time of cementation may introduce a severe complication: cement-induced peri-implantitis. Radiopaque cements are more easily detected on radiographs and should improve the recognition of extravasated cement at the time of insertion. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the radiopacity of commercially available cements in vitro. Eighteen different cements commonly used for luting restorations to implants were tested at both 0.5- and 1.0-mm thicknesses. The cements examined were zinc oxide eugenol, zinc oxide, zinc polycarboxylate, zinc phosphate, resin-reinforced glass ionomer, urethane resin, resin, and composite resin. Two samples of each cement thickness underwent standardized radiography next to an aluminum step wedge as a reference. The mean grayscale value of each of the nine 1-mm steps in the step wedge were used as reference values and compared to each of the cement samples. Temp Bond Clear (resin), IMProv (urethane resin), Premier Implant Cement (resin), and Temrex NE (resin) were not radiographically detectable at either sample thickness. Cements containing zinc were the most detectable upon radiographic analysis. There are significant differences in the radiopacity of many commonly used cements. Since cementinduced peri-implantitis can lead to late implant failure, cements that can be visualized radiographically may reduce the incidence of this problem.