Two-hour bacterial colonization of dental luting cements in vivo

Test specimens of zinc phosphate, polycarboxylate, zinc oxide-EBA, silico-phosphate and resin cements were carried in the mouth for 2 hours. The bacteria adhering to the cement specimens were quantified after culture on selective and non-selective, solid media. Significantly fewer bacteria could be recovered from the EBA cement than from the other cement types. All cement specimens, as well as samples from tooth surfaces, showed selective enrichment of Actinomyces viscosus compared with the proportion of this organism in saliva. The silicophosphate and particularly the polycarboxylate cement were poor substrates for the adhesion of Streptococcus mutans. Scanning electron micrographs revealed heavy accumulations of coccoid and filamentous organisms on zinc phosphate cement surfaces. Fewer bacteria, mainly cocci, were seen on the polycarboxylate and silico-phosphate cements, whereas the micrographs of the EBA and resin cement surfaces were difficult to interpret.