Investigations into the pulpal responses to TEGDMA monomer exposure

Abstract

Composite resin filling materials have been used for over 50 years for the restoration of destructed teeth and represent one of the great successes of biomaterials as they adequately replace dental hard tissue as well as aesthetics. They not only possess comparable mechanical and longevity properties but they successfully overcome many drawbacks of their amalgam precursors such as aesthetics, handling, and preservation of tooth structure. Composites are used for a variety of dental applications not limited to restorations, cores, build-ups, onlays, crowns, cavity liners, cements, and orthodontic appliances. Due to this versatility their popularity is likely to continue to rise. As a result of the inherent chemistry of the material formulations, complete polymerisation of resin-based composites is currently not possible which gives rise to unreacted monomers. In light of their wide application the toxicity of various leachable components of the material mixture has been a popular topic among researchers. Resin monomers including Bis-GMA, HEMA, and TEGDMA - all commonly used in composites- have already been confirmed to be cytotoxic on various cell types such as human gingival fibroblasts, dental pulp cells, and immortalised keratinocytes. Although resin chemistry has developed significantly over the last decade, leading to overall safer composite filling materials, well designed investigations into monomer toxicity have again and again uncovered potentially deleterious cellular consequences many details of which are thus far unclear.