Radio-opaque cements

There is bound to be one problem with resin glass polyalkenoate cement. Because the matrix is a mixture of hydrogel salt and polymer, lightscattering is bound to be greater than in the conventional material. Moreover, the zinc oxide-containing glass of class II materials is bound to be opaque. This makes it difficult to formulate a translucent material and is the reason why their use is restricted to that of a liner or base. However, the class II material cited will be radio-opaque because it uses strontium and zinc, rather than calcium, in the glass. 

Addition of materials (for example antimicrobial drugs or radio-opaque contrast materials) to acrylic bone cement can cause mechanical weakness due to loss of homogeneity and greater water resorption. Antimicrobial drugs have been added to combat the problem of microbial adherence. However, this can lead to a considerable dead biofilm mass on the polymethylmethacrylate surface, promoting late infections by providing a surface attractive to other strains of bacteria (17). 

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