Cytotoxicity of temporary crown and bridge materials

Summary In vitro cytotoxicity of freshly prepared temporary crown and bridge materials was studied using mouse fibroblasts prelabelled with 3H-thymidine grown in shake flask cultures. Cytotoxicity was measured as (1) lack of cell multiplication, (2) stainability with Trypan blue and (3) release of 3H-labelled material to the culture medium. All the materials tested (zinc oxide-eugenol cement (ZOE), Scutan® and Sevriton®) were cytotoxic in this system, ZOE most strongly. This finding favours the view that the in vitro cytotoxicity of dental materials should not be used alone as a screening test for their biological compatibility under clinical conditions since clinical experience and previous in vivo findings have established that ZOE is biologically well tolerated by the dental tissues.