Influence of sodium content on the properties of bioactive glasses for use in air abrasion

Air abrasion is used in minimally invasive dentistry for preparing cavities, while removing no or little sound dentine or enamel, and the use of bioactive glass (rather than alumina) as an abrasive could aid in tooth remineralization. Melt-derived bioactive glasses (SiO2-P2O5-CaO-CaF2-Na2O) with low sodium content (0 to 10 mol% Na2O in exchange for CaO) for increased hardness, high phosphate content for high bioactivity and fluoride content for release of fluoride and formation of fluorapatite were produced, and particles between 38 and 80 mu m in size were used for cutting soda-lime silicate glass microscope slides and human enamel. Vickers hardness increased with decreasing Na2O content, owing to a more compact silicate network in low sodium content glasses, resulting in shorter cutting times. Cutting times using bioactive glass were significantly longer than using the alumina control (29 mu m) when tested on microscope slides; however, glasses showed more comparable results when cutting human enamel. The bioactive glasses formed apatite in Tris buffer within 6 h, which was significantly faster than Bioglass (R) 45S5 (24 h), suggesting that the hardness of the glasses makes them suitable for air abrasion application, while their high bioactivity and fluoride content make them of interest for tooth remineralization.