Novel polyalkenoate (glass-ionomer) dental cements based on zinc silicate glasses

Powdered zinc silicate glasses were investigated for cement formation with aqueous poly(acrylic acid). Alkali metal zinc silicate glasses and calcium zinc silicate glasses gave polyalkenoate cements which were hydrolytically unstable, whilst alumino-zinc-silicate glasses gave hydrolytically stable cements with short setting times (under 10 min) and high compressive strengths (above 90 MPa). The aluminium to silicon ratio was not important in determining the cement forming ability of the glass. The ability to form a cement was, instead, determined largely by the network connectivity of the glass.