Figure 9.

CLSM photomicrographs of 10 μm human oral mucosa sections stained against the anti-pCK. Oral mucosa specimens placed in the Epi-ExPer device were either treated with 0.25% v/v EtOH in CCM (A,a), HEMA-low (B,b), HEMA-high (C,c), TEGDMA-low (D,d), or TEGMA-high (E,e). Treatment with HEMA and TEGDMA for 2.5 h, resulted in epithelial atrophy (C,c,E,e), altered morphology (D,d), vacuolar degeneration of epithelial cells (C,c), and severe de-organization of the normal tissue architecture. HEMA and TEGDMA’s effect on the integrity of oral epithelia was dose-dependent, as higher concentrations of both resinous monomers resulted in more severe cellular and tissue damage. Scale bar = 100 μm.