Self-sealing ability of OCP-mediated cement as a deciduous root canal filling material

Abstract

The densification process and canal sealing ability of octacalcium phosphate (OCP)-mediated cement were investigated for developing biocompatible and biodegradable root canal filling material for deciduous root. The results of the characterization revealed that the starting paste, which consisted of monocalcium phosphate monohydrate, calcium carbonate, and α-tricalcium phosphate, gradually transformed into carbonate apatite for 6 weeks of immersion in medium with 30% fetal bovine serum (MEM30). The canal sealing ability was estimated by dye penetration test. Three kinds of conditions were chosen for the test: one was the cement just after filling the single-rooted extracted human roots; the others were the cement aged in MEM30 for 1 and 6 weeks after filling, respectively. All roots were then immersed in India ink for 3 days. The penetration depth of OCP-mediated cement decreased significantly with time. This demonstrates that OCP-mediated cement has self-sealing ability.