Influence of pH environment on polymer based dental material properties

Objective This study aims to analyze the influence of different pH environments causing degradation to the properties of polymer based materials. Data and sources Studies were identified by searching published material in medical and dental literature using general and specialist databases, hand searching key dental journals and searching abstracts from conference proceedings. Study selection Evaluation of published laboratory studies regarding the effects of different pH mediums on resin-based material properties. Conclusion For laboratory studies, slightly low pH mediums are the ones of choice to best mimic some in vivo conditions, but the effect seems to be slow acting. If the purpose is to accelerate dental composite hydrolysis and produce quick micro-structural damage to evaluate in vitro mechanical performances, suitable alternatives would be the use of high alkaline or very low acidic mediums.