Hydroxyapatite decreases cytotoxicity of a glass ionomer cement by calcium fluoride uptake in vitro

Background: Glass ionomer cements (GICs) are widely used in dentistry because of their remineralizing and cariostatic potential induced by fluoride. In vitro studies have reported cell toxicity triggered by GICs; however, the influence of hydroxyapatite (HAp) must be considered. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of HAp in decreasing the cytotoxicity of the GIC 3M Vitrebond in vitro. Methods: Samples of 3M Vitrebond (powder, liquid and light-cured) were incubated in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium–Ham’s F12 (DMEM-F12) for 24 hours at 37°C. Subsequently, the light-cured medium was treated with 100 mg/mL of HAp overnight. Toxicity of conditioned media diluted 1:2, 1:4, 1:8 and 1:20 was analyzed on human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) using light microscopy and the fluorometric microculture cytotoxicity assay. The amounts of calcium fluoride (CaF ₂ ) were determined by the alizarin red S method. Results: The exposure of HGFs to light-cured induced cell death and morphological changes such as chromatin condensation, pyknotic nuclei and cytoplasmic modifications. Exposure to light-cured treated with HAp, significantly increased cell viability leading to mostly spindle-shaped cells (p<0.001). The concentration of CaF ₂ released by the light-cured was 200 ppm, although, in the light-cured/HAp conditioned medium, this quantity decreased to 88 ppm (p<0.01). Conclusions: These data suggest that HAp plays a protective role, decreasing the cytotoxic effect of 3M Vitrebond induced by CaF ₂ .