Objectives: This study evaluated the release of bisphenol A (BPA) in wastewater after grinding of resin composites and tested three filtration materials.
Methods: Three resin composites (Ceram X, Filtek Supreme XTE and Core-X flow) were used. Samples (5mm×2mm, n=10) were prepared using a metal mold and were polymerized for 20s according to manufacturers' instructions. A dental unit was disconnected from wastewater circulation and composite samples were ground under standardized procedures (200,000rpm; 90s). Wastewater was collected in glass bottles. Water samples were collected as control by performing the same procedure without grinding resin composite. All samples were stored at 7°C for 6 months to simulate storage. Then they were analyzed by HPLC-FLD. Three filtration materials (Zeosorb, Katalox Light and Catalytic Carbon) were used for water treatment to remove BPA. BPA-water solutions were prepared; corresponding to the highest amount released by the resin composites. These solutions were analyzed before and after filtration by HPLC-FLD and their efficacy (%) was calculated.
Results: BPA was detected in all composite solutions: Ceram X and Filtek Supreme XTE showed similar findings (p>0.05) which were significantly higher than the control (p<0.001) and Core-X flow (p=0.001). The efficacy of the filtration materials was: Katalox Light (5.09%)<Zeosorb (7.91%)<Catalytic Carbon (99.38%). Only Catalytic Carbon caused a clinically significant reduction of BPA (p<0.05).
Significance: BPA can be released in wastewater during dental procedures. This release seems to be material dependent. Among the filtration methods tested, Catalytic carbon seems to be effective for BPA reduction in water.
Keywords: Bisphenol A; Catalytic carbon; Dental wastewater; Filtration methods; HPLC; Resin composites.
Copyright © 2020 The Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.