A study on the radiopacity of different shades of resin-modified glass-ionomer restorative materials.

There are several resin-modified glass-ionomer restorative materials available to the dental profession today. The commercially available brands are presented in a range of shades. There is little information on their radiopacity and whether this varies with differences in shade. While the general radiopacity of various products may have been studied, only assumptions are available regarding their consistency between shades. The purpose of this study was to investigate if there were any significant differences in the radiopacity of the shades available within each commercial product. The products evaluated were Fuji II LC, Vitremer, and Photac-Fil. The optical densities of standardized radiographs of samples of these materials were determined and radiopacity values of materials expressed in millimeter equivalents of aluminum. Of the three resin-modified glass-ionomer restorative materials tested, Fuji II LC was the most radiopaque and Photac-Fil the least. Fuji II LC and Vitremer showed radiopacity values equivalent to > 2.5 mm and > 1.5 mm aluminum respectively; Photac-Fil demonstrated very low radiopacity values (equivalent to < 0.6 mm aluminum). Statistical analysis revealed that there was no significant difference in radiopacity among the shades within each of these brands.