The influence of oral bacteria on the surfaces of resin-based dental restorative materials--an in vitro study.

Three tooth-coloured, resin-based restorative materials (Charisma, Dyract, and Pertac) were exposed to typical oral bacteria (S. mutans, S. oralis and A. naeslundii) over a period of up to 35 days. The three strains of bacteria all colonised the resin-based materials within a few hours and formed thick bacterial films. Determination of the bacterial glucose consumption and lactate production during the incubation period showed no difference from the controls which contained no resin samples. Following the experimental exposure, the materials were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for possible surface damage and roughness was measured in a perthometer. Little damage to the resin-based composite material surfaces (Charisma, Pertac) could be observed, whereas the polyacid-modified composite material (Dyract) showed greater damage. There was a significant difference in the resin surface roughness after exposure to S. mutans and to A. naeslundii. The study clearly showed that the bacteria used strongly adhered to the resin-based restorative materials. As a consequence of bacterial colonisation and/or poor oral hygiene, damage to the restorative materials might develop. This suggests the need for dentists to evaluate personal oral hygiene, along with general indications and economic factors, in selecting materials for restorations, since the known anti-bacterial properties of amalgam are considerable.