Estrogenicity of Fissure Sealants and Adhesive Resins Determined by Reporter Gene Assay

Abstract

It is controversial whether the dental resinous materials containing 2,2-bis[4-(2-hydroxy-3-methacryloyloxypropoxy)phenyl] propane (BisGMA), which is synthesized from the estrogenic compound bisphenol A (BPA), include unreacted BPA and/or can mimic the effects of natural steroid hormones. In the present study, the estrogenic activities of 3 fissure sealants and 5 adhesive resins, which were all unpolymerized, were determined by means of a reporter gene assay, and the relevance of the components to the estrogenicity was investigated. Two commercially available sealants were confirmed to have estrogenic activity, although none of the tested materials contained BPA. In contrast, hydrophobic monomer bisphenol A dimethacrylate (BPA-DMA), which is also estrogenic, was found to be included in these estrogenic sealants in an amount greater than the minimum concentration to show estrogenicity. This suggests that the estrogenicity of the two proprietary sealants was associated with BPA-DMA rather than with BPA.