The aim of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxicity of contemporary flowable and paste-like bulk-fill dental composites by using a real-time cell analysis. In the present paper, cytotoxicity levels of five flowable, five paste-like bulk-fill composite materials and one conventional flowable, one conventional paste-like resin composite were examined on L929 mouse fibroblast cell line. After seeding 25,000 cells/300 μL/well cell suspensions into the wells of an E-plate, test materials were added and observed at every 30 min intervals for 72 h. Kruskal Wallis H and Mann Whitney U multiple comparison tests were used to analyze the results. Pre-reacted glass-ionomer (PRG) containing bulk-fill composites were severely toxic at all time points (24, 48 and 72 h, p<0.05). None of the tested composites demonstrated high cell viability (>70%) at 48 and 72 h. Flowable and paste-like composites of the same brand exhibited similar cytotoxic properties (p>0.05).
Keywords: Bulk-fill composites; Cytotoxicity; Real-time cell analysis; iCELLigence system.