Eugenol possesses
analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties with the ability to relieve
pain in irritated or diseased tooth pulp, thus, incorporating
polymers with
eugenol moieties in
dental cements is attractive. An acrylic derivative of
eugenyl methacrylate (EgMA) was copolymerized with
acrylic acid (AA) using a radical initiator, to yield a water soluble copolymer of
acrylic acid and
eugenyl methacrylate {p(AA-co-EgMA)}, which was then applied in the formulation of
glass-ionomer cements for potential application as
dental cements. Three concentrations of the p(AA-co-EgMA) copolymer in water were studied by, 30wt%, 40wt% and 50wt%, and used with different
powder:liquid ratios to formulate the
glass-ionomer cements. The setting kinetics showed that both the concentration of the copolymer and the
powder:liquid ratio influenced the working and setting times. Thus, selected formulations were used for further characterization of their mechanical properties, water uptake and
fluoride release, to optimize the cement formulation. The experimental
glass-ionomer cements exhibited physical and mechanical properties in compliance to ISO standard requirements with the benefit of the initial pH being greater than the commercial formulation used as the standard cement. Furthermore, the presence of the eugenyl moieties bound to the
polymer matrix was advantageous with respect to moisture sensitivity and anti-bacterial properties.