Molecular Toxicology of Substances Released from Resin–Based Dental Restorative Materials

Resin-based dental restorative materials are extensively used today in dentistry. However, significant concerns still remain regarding their biocompatibility. For this reason, significant scientific effort has been focused on the determination of the molecular toxicology of substances released by these biomaterials, using several tools for risk assessment, including exposure assessment, hazard identification and dose-response analysis. These studies have shown that substances released by these materials can cause significant cytotoxic and genotoxic effects, leading to irreversible disturbance of basic cellular functions. The aim of this article is to review current knowledge related to dental composites’ molecular toxicology and to give implications for possible improvements concerning their biocompatibility

Morphometric Registration of Cytotoxic Changes of Epithelial Cells <i>In Vitro:</i> A Methodological Study

Quantification of toxicity-induced cytomorphological effects in an epithelial cell culture system is described. Estimates of volume density and star volume of mitochondria and lysosomes are given. Mean volumes (n = 5) and coefficients of variation of these parameters were equal in experimental (TPA-treatment) and control cultures. An optimal allocation of resources for estimating cytomorphometric parameters would be to increase the number of culture flasks. </jats:p

Effects of Organic and Inorganic Selenium on Mercury Accumulation in Cultures of Normal Human Epithelial Cells

Cultures of normal human epithelial cells were exposed to methylmercury alone or in combination with organic or inorganic selenium. The resulting subcellular distribution of mercury accumulation was demonstrated cytochemically by the silver enhancement method. With this method, accumulation of mercury-selenide complexes is visualised at both the light microscope and electron microscope levels. Substantially more mercury complexes were found in cultures exposed to mercury and selenite than in cultures exposed to mercury and selenomethionine. All visualised mercury-complexes were localised in lysosome-like structures. </jats:p