Influence of cement composition and scaler selection on dental cement removal and surface damage.

Abstract

Excess dental cement associated with the crown-to-abutment attachment process in dental implantation is a recognized risk factor for peri-implant disease. Despite this, there are no standardized guidelines for cement selection and application, which can result in considerable variability in the residual cement amount left undetected in tissues surrounding an implant. This study evaluates the amount of residual cement remaining on commercially pure titanium disks after the removal of four different dental cement compositions simulating clinical practices (bioceramic cement (BC) (Ceramir Bioceramic Implant Cement, Doxa Dental Inc., Uppsala, Sweden), zinc phosphate cement (ZP) (Fleck's, Mizzy, Cherry Hill, NJ), resin-modified glass ionomer cement (RMGIC) (FujiCEM 2, GC, Tokyo, Japan), and self-adhesive resin cement (R) (RelyX Unicem 2 Clicker, 3M ESPE, St. Paul, MN)-using either plastic (graphite) or metallic (stainless steel) scalers. Through two-way ANOVA analysis, both scaler type (p-value < 0.001) and cement type (0.0099) were found independently to significantly influence the residual amount percentage. Overall, bioceramic dental cement combined with plastic scalers was observed to be the best method for balancing cement removal efficiency (13.1% residual cement) and surface preservation. Future studies should examine the impact of metallic and plastic scalers on surface integrity, oxide layer formation, and corrosion resistance.