Assessment of Occlusal Load Strength of Glass Ionomer Cement and Composite in Class V Cavities: An In-Vitro Study.

BACKGROUND:  Glass ionomer cement (GIC) is widely used in dentistry due to its chemical adhesion to dental tissues, biocompatibility, and anti-cariogenic potential but they have relatively weak mechanical properties. Resin composites have been widely regarded as the first choice for direct restorations but their polymerization shrinkage has remained a major problem. It has the potential to cause tooth debonding. The composite interface leads to postoperative sensitivity, secondary caries, enamel cracks, and microleakage. A restorative material's capacity to withstand occlusal stresses and support the remaining tooth structure depends on this property. Although class V restorations are predominantly done with GIC, this study was done to compare the strength of composite with the same. The GIC restore glass which is commonly used was tested against restofill composite. The main objective of conducting the study was to compare the compressive strength of the composite vs GIC in cervical cavities. So the aim of the study is to assess the occlusal load strength of GIC and composite in class V cavities using the universal testing machine. MATERIALS AND METHODS:  This study was employed as an in vitro study involving 20 natural central incisor teeth without any carious lesions. Class V cavity preparation was done and the selected teeth were divided into two groups of ten each. The cavities were filled with D Tech Restore GIC and composite restorations (restofill), respectively, polished, and then subjected to testing. An eccentric load was applied to the tooth structure using an Instron (Instron E3000 Electropuls, Instron, Norwood, United States) - Universal testing machine with a cross-head speed of 1mm per minute, and the stresses were further analyzed in the presence of an occlusal loading test using a stainless steel jig of 1mm diameter which led to the sectioning of the tooth buccolingually under the applied load. RESULTS:  An independent t-test was used to assess the results, and it was concluded that the results were statistically significant (p<0.05) at p=0.034. CONCLUSION:  Conclusively, the results suggested that the occlusal load strength of the composite is greater when compared to GIC.

Photodynamic and antibacterial studies of template-assisted Fe2O3-TiO2 nanocomposites.

Fe2O3-TiO2 (FT) nanocomposites were successfully synthesized by template-assisted precipitation reaction using Polyvinylpyrrolidone-Polyethylene glycol (PVP-PEG), Tween-80 (T-80) and Cetyltrimethylammomium bromide (CTAB) as templates. The prepared nanocomposites were characterized by XRD, SEM, EDX, UV-DRS, FT-IR, and FT-Raman spectroscopic analysis. The photohemolysis studies were done in human erythrocytes and the cell viability studies were done in HeLa cell lines under the irradiation of an LED light source. The photodynamic studies were performed under two different experimental conditions, such as varying concentrations as well as a time of irradiation. The nanocomposites exhibit significant photodynamic activity via the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) under the light source. The results show that the PVP-PEG-assisted Fe2O3-TiO2 (FT-PVP-PEG) nanocomposite has more potential for photodynamic activity in the presence of an LED light source. Also, the antibacterial effect of the samples was investigated against gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli). Among all nanocomposites, FT-PVP-PEG shows remarkable antibacterial activity against E. coli. Moreover, the template-assisted nanocomposites protect the biomolecules from the toxicity generated by the magnetic nanoparticles (NPs). The template-assisted FT nanocomposites for the field of photodynamic activity have been experimentally shown for the first time.

Metallothionein Induced Time Dependent Histomorphometric Analysis of Clarias gariepinus Exposed to Cadmium.

Cadmium (Cd), an extremely toxic heavy metal is extensively used in modern era because of its constructive chemical and physical properties. Recently Cd contamination was estimated in India's major cities fresh water ecosystem, which may have firm impact on human health. Hence, this study was aimed to detect the time dependent effect of cadmium in fresh water fish C. gariepinus, a bioindicator species of water pollution. In a controlled environment, fishes were exposed to cadmium for different duration and analyzed for Cd accumulation. Cd induced toxicity was assessed by estimating metallothionein biomarker protein of heavy metal toxicity and histomorphometric changes in liver and kidney. Our results revealed that fish exposed to Cd induced apoptosis in fish tissues via induction of caspases and in contrast the metallothionein was also increased consistently with different doses of Cd exposure. Hence we conclude Cd induced structural damages to fishes are attributed to induction of caspases and estimating MT level in tissues can be effective biomarker to analyze the effect of acute environmental exposure to Cd.

Synergistic effect of ultrasonication and phase transfer catalysts in radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate - A kinetic study.

Methyl methacrylate (MMA) has been polymerized to poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) by employing three different phase transfer catalysts (PTC) such as 1,4-bis(dimethylhexyl)ethylenediammoniumbromide (DMHEDAB), 1,4bis(dimethylheptyl)ethylenediammoniumbromide (DMH1EDAB) and 1,4-bis(dimethyloctyl)ethylenediammonium bromide (DMOEDAB) under the influence of ultrasound radiation. The radical polymerization was performed under unstirred condition at a temperature of 60±1°C in an oxygen free atmosphere employing water soluble K2S2O8 as initiator. Various parameters such as role of [Monomer], [Initiator], [PTC], solvent and temperature were investigated on rate of polymerization (Rp) and the synergic efficacy of ultrasound wave variation and phase transfer catalysts were also assessed. It was found that the rate of polymerization (Rp) increased drastically for all the three catalyst under the influence of ultrasound and the order of efficiency was found to be [Formula: see text] This increase may be due to the number of carbon chain attached to the polar group which facilitate and accelerate the rate of polymerization.