A New Zinc Reinforced Glass Ionomer Cement: A Boon in Dentistry

Conventional glass ionomer cement (CGIC) has many beneficial properties, but it has poor physical and mechanical properties. Therefore, new glass ionomer cement (GIC) is manufactured by adding zinc to improve the mechanical properties of GIC ChemFil Rock. This material possesses better flexural tensile strength and compressive strength in comparison to conventional to CGIC.

The aim of this study was to compare four properties of ZRGI like fracture toughness, surface micro-hardness, abrasive wear, and roughness to other GIC material, which are commercially available as: resin-coated glass ionomer (EQUIA FIL).

The study was done in dual phase. In phase-1, micro-hardness surface roughness, abrasion of four GIC and a composite resin as control was analyzed and in phase-2, fracture toughness of four GIC was done at 24 h interval so that all cement achieve its peak strength.

Micro-hardness value of ChemFil Rock was lowest among different GIC groups. All four GIC group exhibit similar abrasion capacities, while composite were more wear-resistant significantly. Roughness change was highest on ChemFil Rock compared to other GIC. EQUIA FIL has the highest fracture toughness, followed by ChemFil Rock.

We can conclude that incorporating zinc in the matrix of chemfil rock increases fracture toughness and good abrasive wear, but it does not improve micro-hardness or surface roughness.