Properties of zirconia-containing glass-ionomer cement

Abstract Glass-ionomer cements (GICs) are used as restorative dental materials due to their capacity to chemically adhere to enamel and dentin, low thermal expansion coefficient, and compatibility with dental structures. However, these materials have low resistance to wear and fracture. In this work, zirconia-reinforced GICs were prepared to evaluate the influence of particle size as well as ZrO2 content on their properties. All evaluated composites presented compressive strength values above the pure GIC strength. The highest compressive strength values were obtained with the addition of 8.5 wt% ZrO2. The average roughness obtained was not significantly changed compared to commercial GIC and the lowest value was for the composite with 10 wt% ZrO2 (50 mesh). In the microhardness test, the highest values were obtained with the addition of 8.5 wt% of ZrO2. Therefore, the results indicated that the addition of ZrO2 to GIC is an effective alternative to improve the quality of dental restorations.