This study examined the radiopacity of eight contemporary luting cements by direct digital radiography. Five discshaped specimens (5 mm × 1 mm) were prepared for each material tested (BisCem, Clearfil SA Luting, Duolink, Maxcem Elite, Multilink Speed, Panavia F 2.0, RelyX Unicem Clicker, V-link). The specimens were radiographed using a Kodak CS 7600 image plate (Carestream Health, Inc., Rochester, NY, USA) and an aluminum step wedge with a range of thicknesses (1.5 to 16.5 mm in 1.5 mm increments) and a 1 mm tooth used as a reference. A dental X-ray machine Kodak 2200 Intraoral X-ray System (Carestream Health, Inc., Rochester, NY, USA), operating at 70 kVp, 4 mA, 0.156 s and a source-to-sample distance of 30 cm, was used. According to international standards, the radiopacity of the specimens was compared with that of an aluminum step wedge using NIH ImageJ software (available at http://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij/).The data was analyzed by ANOVA and a Tukey's post hoc test. Maxcem Elite (5.66) showed the highest radiopacity of all materials, followed in order by Multilink Speed (3.87) and V-link (2.83). The radiopacity of Clearfil SA Luting (1.35), BisCem (1.33), Panavia F 2.0 (1.29) and Duolink (1.10) were between enamel (1.79) and dentin (0.19). RelyX Unicem Clicker (0.71) showed the lowest radiopacity, which was higher than that of dentin. All materials showed a radiopacity above the minimum recommended by the International Organization for Standardization and the American National Standards/American Dental Association with the exception of RelyX Unicem Clicker.

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For hard tissue formation, cellular mechanisms, involved in protein folding, processing, and secretion play important roles in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In pathological and regeneration conditions, ER stress hinders proper formation and secretion of proteins, and tissue regeneration by unfolded protein synthesis. 4-Phenylbutyric acid (4PBA) is a chemical chaperone that alleviates ER stress through modulation in proteins folding and protein trafficking. However, previous studies about 4PBA only focused on the metabolic diseases rather than on hard tissue formation and regeneration. Herein, we evaluated the function of 4PBA in dentin regeneration using an exposed pulp animal model system via a local delivery method as a drug repositioning strategy. Altered morphological changes and cellular physiology were examined with histology and immunohistochemistry. The 4PBA treatment modulated the inflammation reaction and resolved ER stress in the early stage of pulp exposure. In addition, 4PBA treatment activated blood vessel formation and TGF-𝛽1 expression in the dentin-pulp complex. Micro-computed tomography and histological examinations confirmed the facilitated formation of the dentin bridge in the 4PBA-treated specimens. These results suggest that proper modulation of ER stress would be an important factor for secretion and patterned formation in dentin regeneration.

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