Evaluation of biologic effects of dental materials using four different cell culture techniques

The cytotoxicity of fresh and 1-day-old silicate cement, composite restorative material and zinc oxide-eugenol cement (ZOE) was tested using human epithelial cells (NCTC 2544) in four different cell culture systems: (1) 51Cr-release from prelabeled cells after incubation for 4 and 24 h in the presence of the materials. (2) Implanting the materials on an agar everlay and visualizing any cytotoxic effects after 24 h by neutral red vital stain. (3) Cell growth during 5 d in the presence of the materials. (4) Colony-forming ability after exposure of the cells for 30 min to medium previously incubated with the materials for 24 h. Freshly prepared and 1-day-old ZOE exhibited a prominent cytotoxic effect in all four systems. A less marked effect was found for the composite material in systems 2, 3, and 4, while silicate cement appeared to be the least toxic material in these three systems. Neither silicate cement nor composite showed any cytotoxic effect in system 1 based on 51Cr-release. It is concluded that the effects obtained by the cell culture techniques did not mimic the reactions obtained when the materials are tested under conditions which reflect their clinical use.