Avaliação in vitro e in vivo da citotoxidade e da genotoxicidadde das soldagens a prata, a Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) e a laser em ortodontia

Abstract

Soldered appliances are widely used in orthodontics and pediatric dentistry. The cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of silver solder and laser welding has already been tested in dentistry. However, little is known about the Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding technique, which uses an electric arc between an electrode and the part to be welded. The aims of this study were to evaluate the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of silver soldered (silver soldered bands - SSB), laser welded (laser welded bands - LWB), TIG welded (TIG welded bands – TWB) joints and no soldered/welded bands (NS /WB) in vitro and in vivo. For that, MTT reduction assay was performed in HGF, HaCat, Vero and MRC-5 cell lines. The genotoxicity of the metallic eluates of the joints was determined by comet assay in HGF cells after 3-h treatment. The quantification of Ni, Fe, Cr, Cu, Ag, Zn Cd and Sn in the metallic eluates was performed with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Cu, Zn and Ag were the most detected ions in SSB medium samples, and Fe, Cr and Ni in the samples of LWB and TWB. The SSB group induced strong cytotoxicity in all cell lines. NS/WB, LWB and TWB presented a weak cytotoxic induction. In comet assay, SSB group showed a higher damage index and more comets with damage class 3 and 4, compared to the other groups. In the in vivo study, the genotoxic effects on the buccal mucosa cells of children with lingual arches containing silver soldered joints, laser welded joints and without any appliance were accessed by buccal comet assay (BCA) and the buccal micronucleus cytome (BMCyt) assay. The urinary levels of Ni, Cr, Fe, Zn, Cu, Ag, Cd and Sn were investigated through urine samples analyzed by ICP-MS. The results of the study indicate that silver solder and laser welding did not cause genotoxicity in buccal mucosa cell during the period evaluated. The changes of the ions in the urinary contents cannot only be attributed to the appliances. TIG welding may be a promising technique to be applied in orthodontics and deserve be further investigated, as it presented in the in vitro and in vivo tests a low cytotoxic and genotoxic potential.