Fluoride release from glass ionomer-lined amalgam restorations

This study evaluated the amount of fluoride released from glass ionomer-lined amalgam restorations. 50 human extracted molars were divided into five groups of 10 teeth each. Group 1: No restorations. Group 2: Class V cavities (2 x 2 x 7 mm) were made on the facial and lingual surfaces and restored with Dispersalloy amalgam. Group 3: Same as Group 2 except 1 mm of Ketac-Bond glass ionomer cement (GIC) was placed on the axial wall before amalgam insertion. Group 4: Same as Group 2 except 1 mm of Chelon-Silver glass ionomer cement (GIC) was placed on the axial wall before amalgam insertion. Group 5: Same as Group 2 except 1 mm of Ketac-Silver GIC was used before amalgam insertion. Before any treatment, all samples were placed in polyethylene vials with 4 ml of deionized water and thermocycled (100x) for baseline fluoride release levels. After restoration, each tooth was placed in a vial with 4 ml of fresh deionized water. At weekly intervals, each tooth was removed from its aqueous medium and transferred to another vial containing 4 ml of deionized water. Fluoride release was measured four times at weekly intervals with an Orion #9609 fluoride-ion electrode. At one week, Ketac-Bond released significantly more fluoride than Ketac-Silver (P less than 0.01) which released significantly more fluoride than Chelon-Silver (P less than 0.01). At four weeks, there was no significant difference in fluoride release between Chelon-Silver and Ketac-Silver, but Ketac-Bond released significantly more fluoride than either of the other materials (P less than 0.01).