Comparison of the sealing ability of mineral trioxide aggregate and Portland cement used as root-end filling materials

Abstract

Inadequate apical seal is the major cause of surgical endodontic failure. The root-end filling material used should prevent egress of potential contaminants into periapical tissue. The purpose of this study was to compare the sealing ability of four root-end filling materials: white mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA), gray MTA, white Portland cement (PC) and gray PC by dye leakage test. Ninety-six human single-rooted teeth were instrumented, and obturated with gutta-percha. After resecting the apex, an apical cavity was prepared. The teeth were randomly divided into four experimental groups (A: white MTA, B: gray MTA, C: white PC and D: gray PC; n = 20) and two control groups (positive and negative control groups; n = 8). Root-end cavities in the experimental groups were filled with the experimental materials. The teeth were exposed to Indian ink for 72 hours. The extent of dye penetration was measured with a stereomicroscope at 16× magnification. The negative controls showed no dye penetration and dye penetration was seen in the entire root-end cavity of positive controls. However, there was no statistically significant difference among the four experimental groups (P > 0.05). All retrograde filling materials tested in this study showed the same microleakage in vitro. Given the low cost and apparently similar sealing ability of PC, PC could be considered as a substitute for MTA as a root-end filling material.

Introduction to Mineral Trioxide Aggregate

“…Comparison of MTA and Portland cement sealability using a bacterial leakage model [40] and fluid transport [37,41] exhibited similar results. This finding is in line with other results published on sealing ability of MTA and Portland cement [13,82].…”

Antimicrobial effects of several calcium silicate-based root-end filling materials

“…C. albicans has been found in the infected root canal and periapical pathologic tissues 18,19) . Both organisms may enter the pulp as contaminants from the oral microflora during rootcanal treatment and then enter the periapical region if an adequate root-end sealing is not provided 20) . Sen et al showed the penetration of cocci and yeasts into the dentinal tubules through their scanning electron microscopy-based study 6) .…”

In Vitro Cytotoxicity Evaluation of a Novel Root Repair Material

“…Resin-containing composite materials release toxic monomers and shrink during polymerization (1). Since the introduction of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) (Dentsply Tulsa Dental Specialties, Tulsa, OK) into the field of root repair materials (2), calcium silicate-based materials have attracted considerable attention (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8) owing to their superior sealing ability, biocompatibility, regenerative capabilities, and antibacterial properties (4,6,(9)(10)(11)(12). Thus, they have been widely used both as endodontic repair materials and as dentin substitutes (13).…”