Correlation between the degree of conversion and the elution of leachable components from dental resin-based cements

This study examined the possible correlation between the degree of conversion (DC) and the amount of substances eluted from three commercial cured resin-based cements. The DC of the various resin-based cements was measured by Raman spectroscopy, while the quantity of unreacted monomers released from the cement matrix (triethylene glycol dimethacrylate, TEGDMA, urethane dimethacrylate, UDMA, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, HEMA and bisphenol A) was determined by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). The obtained results, after multiple statistical evaluation (one way ANOVA, LSD post hoc test), showed no significant differences in the DC values between the resin cements. On the contrary, the results of the HPLC analysis depicted statistically significant differences between the three materials with respect to the amount of leached monomers. In addition, no correlation between the DC and the amount of eluted substances from the tested cured composite cements was found.