High-Strength Anticaries Fluorinated Graphene/ZnS:Mn²⁺ Mechanoluminescence-Based Glass Ionomer Cement for the Filling Treatment of Dental Caries

Although glass ionomer cement (GIC) is frequently adopted as the filling material for decayed teeth, it shows disadvantages like poor mechanical property and a low concentration on fluoride release, in which its clinical applications are limited. In this article, fluorinated graphene (FG) and ZnS:Mn²⁺ mechanoluminescence were dexterously adopted to GIC, thus successfully constructing the ternary composite glass ionomer cement material with high-strength anticaries to treat dental caries via filling. SEM, XRS, XRD, and FTIR were adopted to characterize the structural morphology and chemical composition of GFZ, comprehensively evaluating its mechanical properties, antibacterial features, and biocompatibility. Based on the experiment, the glass ionomer cement composite material (GF0.5Z1) mixed with 0.5 wt % FG and 1.0 wt % ZnS:Mn²⁺ presented the most significant improvement in the mechanical performance, in which the Vicker hardness, compressive strength, elastic modulus, and bending strength increased by 84.17% (89.28 ± 2.93 vs 48.46 ± 2.91 Hv), 70.90% (148.86 ± 7.50 vs 87.10 ± 0.95 MPa), 87.05% (4670.77 ± 592.42 vs 2497.07 ± 581.20 MPa), and 157.18% (26.67 ± 0.85 vs 10.37 ± 0.65 MPa), respectively, while the friction coefficient decreased by 15.38% (0.11). Moreover, based on the fluoride-releasing experiment, GF0.5Z1 released a higher concentration of fluoride (238.88 vs 69.69 ppm at the 7th day, 304.85 vs 74.79 ppm at the 14th day) than GIC at the same time node. Meanwhile, compared to GIC, GF0.5Z1 also showed advantageous antibacterial effects (90.24% ± 1.76, 94.35% ± 2.05), preferable cytocompatibility, and long-term stability. After the tooth filling in vitro, the occlusal high point can be displayed by orange visible light. Therefore, combining its outstanding mechanical properties, high fluoride ion-releasing level, enhanced antibacterial effect, and advantageous biocompatibility, GF0.5Z1 is a potential material for caries filling.