In vitro electrical impedance spectroscopy of human dentine: the effect of restorative materials

The influence of different restorative materials on in vitro dielectric properties of sound dentine was investigated. The studied samples were three-layer materials consisting of successive disks of dentine and silver amalgam or nanohybrid composite resin. Before being tested, the samples were maintained in physiological solution never more than 48 h from the extraction. Also, sections of intact dentine were similarly prepared for electrical measurements. Complex dielectric permittivity of these specimens was determined in a wide frequency range using the parallel-plate capacitor technique. Very similar dielectric responses of intact dentine and amalgam-dentine material were observed. This is explained on the basis of high dc conductivity exhibited by both samples. In contrast, resin-dentine specimen revealed a much more insulating behavior. A simple theoretical model for heterogeneous systems could be applied to these dental three-layer materials. The dielectric properties of restored dentine are strongly dependent on the kind of restorative material employed in each case. This suggests that electrical data should be used carefully in caries diagnosis on restored teeth.