Effects of a novel hydration accelerant on the biological and mechanical properties of white mineral trioxide aggregate.

INTRODUCTION

The objective of this study was to investigate the antibacterial, biocompatibility, and mechanical properties of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) set using a calcium lactate gluconate (CLG) solution.

METHODS

ProRoot white MTA (WMTA) (Dentsply Tulsa Dental, Tulsa, OK) was used as the control group; MTA-like cement was prepared by mixing Portland cement/bismuth oxide/calcium sulfate (75/20/5) as the experiment group. A solution of 23.1 wt% CLG was used as a hydration accelerant and was compared with deionized water (DDW). Changes in pH values, antibacterial properties, in vitro cell viability, and diametral tensile strength (DTS) of the hydrated cements were assessed.

RESULTS

Like WMTA, pH values for the MTA-like cement set using DDW and the CLG solution showed minor but statistically significant differences (P < .05). The antibacterial effects of hydrated specimens set by DDW and CLG against Streptococcus mutans assessed with an in vitro tube dilution test showed a significant difference in the early hydration time but no significant difference after 60 minutes (P > .05). A mouse osteoblastic cell (MC3T3-E1)-based MTT assay revealed that WMTA set using CLG had significantly higher cell viability than that set using DDW (P < .05). The DTS test for hydrated MTA-like cement with different liquids showed a significant difference on day 1 but no statistical difference on day 21.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that using a CLG solution as the hydration accelerant may enhance the biocompatibility but not compromise WMTA's antibacterial and mechanical properties.