Sensitivity of different human cell line in the biologic evaluation of dental resin-based restorative materials

Three different cell lines of human origin, i.e. human epithelial cells (NCTC 2544), and epithelial- and fibroblast-like cells from human gingiva, were tested for their sensitivity to three different dental resin-based restorative materials using four different assay techniques. The techniques applied were cell growth measurements by cell number, 51Cr-release, agar overlay with neutral red staining and colony formation. The ranking of the cells according to their sensitivity to the materials varied with the assay technique applied, with no cell line being consistently more sensitive than the others. It is also suggested that the type of medium applied could be important for the results obtained.