Glass ionomer cement: literature review

Abstract

Introduction: In the dental area preventive actions occur in an attempt to avoid the installation of caries, a disease that has an increased prevalence in the population and which is a Public Health problem. Some resources are used for such, such as: performing early diagnosis and the option for conservative treatments of minimal intervention. The glass ionomer cement (CIV), coming from its beneficial characteristics that meet current trends, is closely related to the precepts of Preventive and Minimally Invasive Dentistry and the new preservative techniques recommended. Objective: The objective of the present article was to carry out a literature review study, to determine the characteristics of CIV that has a prominent role in the Minimally Invasive Dentistry profile. Results: The dentist surgeon must be aware of the classification, according to its composition and physical-chemical nature: conventional ionomers; ionomers reinforced by metals; high viscosity and various types of resin modified glass ionomers to correctly choose the CIV that will be used in their clinical interventions, which should occur based on the properties of the material and its clinical indication. Conclusion: It was concluded that the implementation of preventive techniques with CIV in public health care, tend to minimize curative treatments, concurrently valuing the low complexity dental procedures performed in Primary Care, avoiding referrals for treatment of cases of greater complexity at the level Secondary and tertiary care, saving resources.