Abstract: The use of resin based materials/methacrylates and bleaching gels in dentistry are becoming increasingly common because of their excellent bonding properties & also their esthetic appearance. However, not all patients and dental personnel are aware of the cytotoxic effects these materials have on the dental pulp and other tissues in the body. There is direct evidence that released components of dental resins do kill cells in vitro. We observed that methacrylates like 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and bleaching gels cause apoptosis in different cell types which include human & murine cells. Apoptosis in this case stress induced & is mediated via the intrinsic pathway through the mitochondria and by modulating various transcription factors like nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) and c-Jun. However, apoptosis could be effectively prevented with the use of an established antioxidant like N acetyl-cysteine (NAC). Our results show that NAC stabilizes the mitochondrial membrane potential & also decreases the activation of the downstream caspases. In addition, NAC downregulates c-Jun-N-terminal kinase and upregulates NFκB which also contributes to the survival of cells. Hence the main of this study was to target the different pathways through which these methacryaltes cause apoptosis in addition to finding different agents that would neutralize this toxicity thereby making these dental materials more biocompatible. We present NAC as one such agent. We believe that using NAC along with these dental materials will make them potentially less harmful to the human body thereby making these materials more biocompatible.