Ceci Nunes Carvalho

Micropush‐out dentine bond strength of a new gutta‐percha and niobium phosphate glass composite

AIM To characterize an experimental gutta-percha and niobium phosphate glass composite (GNB) applied with a thermoplastic technique to the root canals without sealer in a moist environment and to evaluate its micropush-out bond strength to root canal wall dentine. METHODOLOGY The root canals of sixty human mandibular pre-molars were prepared using rotary NiTi instruments and irrigation with sodium hypochlorite and EDTA. The teeth were then randomly divided into three groups according to the root filling material used: AH plus sealer and gutta-percha (AH), EndoSequence BC gutta-percha without sealer (GBC), and GNB without sealer. The root canals were filled with a single cone using warm vertical condensation. Push-out bond strengths associated with the filling materials in slices from middle root thirds was determined 30 days after root filling. The failure mode was analyzed with SEM. Analysis using EDX and SEM-EDS was carried out to verify the composition and distribution of the particles of the tested materials. Data were statistically analyzed by one-way anova and Tukeys test (P < 0.05). RESULTS AH and GNB groups had bond strengths of 2.83 ± 0.64 MPa and 2.68 ± 0.84 MPa, respectively, with no significant difference between them (P > 0.05). The GBC group had the lowest mean bond strength (1.34 ± 0.42 MPa), which was significantly different compared with the other groups (P < 0.05). Cohesive failures prevailed in the AH group, whereas failures were mixed in the GBC and GNB groups. The SEM-EDS analysis on the surface and in the bulk of GBC revealed only a superficial coating of bioceramic particles. Glass particles were detected both on the surface and in the bulk of GNB. CONCLUSIONS The experimental root filling composite (GNB) had an ability to adhere to root canal wall dentine equal to the current gold standard root filling with gutta-percha and sealer (AH Plus).

Influence of dentin on pH of 2% chlorhexidine gel and calcium hydroxide alone or in combination

The aims of endodontic treatment in cases of apical periodontitis are to reduce as much as possible the number of microorganisms inside the root canal system and to inactivate toxins produced by them. Most of the times, these objectives are not achieved solely by chemomechanical preparation, and intracanal dressing may be necessary. In these cases, calcium hydroxide is used as a root canal dressing due to its well-known and recognized antimicrobial activity. Chlorhexidine has a wide spectrum of antimicrobial activity and its association with calcium hydroxide has been recommended in an attempt to amplify antimicrobial effects of calcium hydroxide. It is also known that dentin exerts a buffering effect under wide pH variations, and may be responsible for decreasing the antimicrobial activity of drugs inside the root canal. The objectives of this study were to assess the pH of 2% chlorhexidine gel and calcium hydroxide alone or in combination, as well as the influence of dentin on the pH of these compounds. Dentin powder was obtained from bovine teeth and added as 1.8% to the volume of the medications. All substances were individually stored in plastic flasks, in triplicate. A pH meter was used at five different moments to assess pH in viscous medium: immediately after preparation and after 24 h, and 7, 14, and 21 days. Results were analyzed by paired Students t-test. Statistically significant differences were observed in the 2% chlorhexidine gel group alone or associated with calcium hydroxide and added of dentin powder (P < 0.05). Mean pH values indicated the influence of dentin powder because of a significant increase in pH. Calcium hydroxide with propylene glycol as the vehicle always showed high pH, demonstrating that this compound was not affected by the presence of dentin.

Characterization of two Ni–Cr dental alloys and the influence of casting mode on mechanical properties

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to evaluate the tensile strength, elongation, microhardness (MHV), composition and microstructure of two Ni-Cr based alloy, cast under different casting conditions. METHODS Before casting, the alloy ingots were evaluated as regards composition (EDX) and microstructure (Optical microscopy, SEM and EDX). The casting conditions were as follows: electromagnetic induction in an environment controlled with argon (EWA), electromagnetic induction in an environment under vacuum (EWV), electromagnetic induction without atmosphere control (EWNC) and blowtorch (BT). For each condition, 16 specimens were obtained, each measuring 25 mm high and 2.5mm in diameter. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elongation (EL) tests were performed in a Kratos machine (1.0mm/min). Fractured specimens were embedded in bakelite resin and polished for Vickers Microhardness analysis (1000 g/10s) with 4 penetrations in each specimen. The UTS, EL and MHV results were evaluated for two-way ANOVA and Tukeys test (α=0.05). RESULTS The cross-product interaction was statistically significant for all properties evaluated (p<0.0001), lower UTS, VHN and high elongation means were observed for the Ni-Cr-Mo-Be alloy tested when cast under the induction/argon (p<0.05). Higher UTS means were found for Ni-Cr-Mo-Ti alloy tested when cast under the induction/vacuum, and induction/air and flame/air condition (p<0.05). The two alloys show a microstructure with a dendritic formation with the presence of eutectic presence. CONCLUSION The Ni-Cr-Mo-Ti alloy showed high UTS, MHV and lowest EL comparaded with the tradicional Ni-Cr-Mo-Be, that show lowest UTS, MHV and higher EL when cast on induction/argon.

Effect of airborne-particle abrasion on dentin with experimental niobophosphate bioactive glass on the microtensile bond strength of resin cements

PURPOSE The objective of this study was to evaluate the microtensile bond strength (μTBS) of two resin cements bonded to dentin pre-treated with experimental niobophosphate bioactive glass (NBG). METHODS The experimental bioactive glass was prepared by mixing different amounts of NbO5; (NH4)2HP4; CaO; Na2CO3. The particle size distribution and composition of the bioactive glass powder were determined. Twenty flat dentin surfaces from sound extracted human molars were polished with 600-grit SiC paper and air-abraded using experimental bioactive glass niobium powder. The bonding procedures were accomplished by the application of two resin cements: self-etching Panavia F or self-adhesive RelyX U-100. The resin-bonded specimens were cut and the μTBS test was performed after 24h. The failure mode was determined with a stereomicroscope at 40× magnification. The results were statistically analyzed by two-way ANOVA and Tukey tests (α=0.05). RESULTS The two-way ANOVA did not detect interactions between factors, but only a difference between the self-etching and self-adhesive cement (p=0.001). The self-etching resin cement Panavia F obtained a higher μTBS than the self-adhesive cement Relyx U-100. The predominant failure mode of the cements was adhesive/mixed between the resin cement and dentin. CONCLUSION A new bioactive glass containing niobium did not interfere with the immediate bonding performance of self-etching and self-adhesive cements.

Influence of calcium hydroxide intracanal medication on bond strength of two endodontic resin-based sealers assessed by micropush-out test

AIM To evaluate the influence of calcium hydroxide (CH) paste used as intracanal medication on the bond strength of AH Plus (AH) and Epiphany (EP) sealers to root dentin. METHODOLOGY Sixty palatal canals were prepared in human maxillary first molars, using a rotary system. Half of the specimens received distilled water, and the other ones received intracanal medication with CH for 14 days. Thereafter, the CH was removed and both groups were further divided into two subgroups, filled with either AH or EP. The test specimens were submitted to the micropush-out test at a speed of 0.5 mm min(-1) . Results were statistically analyzed with anova and Tukeys test at a 95% confidence level. RESULTS The use of CH had statistically significant (P < 0.05) influence on AH only, increasing its bond strength from 19.7 ± 4.5 to 23.8 ± 2.5 (mean ± SD in MPa). In both EP groups, with (1.8 ± 0.5 MPa) and without (1.5 ± 0.9 MPa) CH, the bond strength values were statistically significantly lower than in either of the AH groups (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Calcium hydroxide used as intracanal medication for 14 days had a positive influence on the bond strength of AH to root dentin whereas the effect on EP was insignificant. Regardless of the intracanal medication used, AH showed considerably higher bond strength values compared with EP sealer.

Properties of Composite Materials Used for Bracket Bonding

The purpose of this study was to evaluate in vitro the shear bond strength to enamel, flexural strength, flexural modulus, and contraction stress of one orthodontic composite and two flowable composites. Orthodontic brackets were bonded to 45 human maxillary premolars with the composites Transbond XT, Filtek Z-350 flow and Opallis flow and tested for shear bond strength. For measurement of flexural strength and flexural modulus, specimens were fabricated and tested under flexion. For the contraction stress test, cylindrical specimens were tested and an extensometer determined the height of the specimens. The data were subjected to one-way ANOVA and Tukeys test (α=0.05). The shear bond strength values were significantly lower (p<0.05) for the flowable composites compared with the orthodontic composite. For the flexural strength, no statistically significant difference was found among the composites (p>0.05) while the flexural modulus was significantly higher (p<0.05) for Transbond XT than for Filtek Z-350 flow and Opallis flow. The orthodontic composite presented significantly lower contraction stress values than the flowable composites (p<0.05). The light-activated orthodontic composite material presented higher flexural modulus and shear bond strength and lower contraction stress than both flowable composites.

Micro Push-out Bond Strength and Bioactivity Analysis of a Bioceramic Root Canal Sealer

Introduction: Bioactive endodontic sealers have been developed to improve the quality of root canal obturation. EndoSequence Bioceramic (BC) Sealer is amongst calcium silicate-based materials recently developed for permanent root canal filling. The objective of this study was to evaluate the bioactivity of BC Sealer and its micro push-out bond strength to dentin compared to AH-Plus (AH) sealer. Methods and Materials: To perform the micro push-out test, 24 root canals of mandibular premolars were instrumented and divided into two groups (n=12). Each root was cut into 4 slices and lumens of the canals were filled with the sealers and submitted to micro push-out test. Failure mode was assessed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Bioactivity of BC sealer was investigated with scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray (SEM/EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Bioactivity assessments were reported descriptively. Bond strength data were analyzed by parametric t-test (α=5%). Results: In micro push-out test AH had higher bond strength mean values (16.29 MPa) than BC sealer (9.48 MPa) (P<0.05). Both groups had low amount of adhesive failure. SEM showed the presence of a mineral precipitate after 30 days and EDS analysis showed that those precipitates have high proportion of Ca. XRD showed peaks of crystalline phases of calcium carbonate compatible with the bioactivity. Conclusion: BC sealer showed indications of bioactivity and lower bond strength to dentine compared to AH.

Ions Release and pH of Calcium Hydroxide-, Chlorhexidine- and Bioactive Glass-Based Endodontic Medicaments

This study evaluated pH and release of calcium, sodium and phosphate ions from different medications in human dentin. Fifty premolars were prepared and randomly divided into groups: (CHX) - 2% chlorhexidine gel; (CHX + CH) - CHX + calcium hydroxide PA; (CH) - CH + propylene glycol 600; (NPBG) - experimental niobium phosphate bioactive glass + distilled water; (BG) - bioactive glass (Bio-Gran) + distilled water. The specimens were immersed in deionized water and the pH variations were measured. The quantification of ions in the solutions was made by inductively coupled plasma - atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP/AES) at 10 min, 24 h, 7, 14, 21 and 30 days. The results were analyzed by ANOVA and Tukey`s test, with a significance level of 5%. CH had the highest level of calcium ions release at 30 days, while CHX and BG released more sodium ions. BG, NPBG and CHX released a higher amount of phosphate ions. The pH of CH was significantly higher compared with the other groups. CH favored the greatest increase of pH and calcium ions release. The bioactive glasses released more sodium and phosphate ions and presented an alkaline pH immediately and after 30 days.

Adhesives Doped with Bioactive Niobophosphate Micro-Filler: Degree of Conversion and Microtensile Bond Strength

To evaluate the effect of incorporating niobium phosphate bioactive glass (NbG) into commercial etch-and-rinse adhesive systems, with and without silane, on their degree of conversion (DC) (%) and microtensile bond strength (μTBS). The NbG micro-filler was added to two etch-and-rinse adhesive systems: One Step (OS) and Prime & Bond (PB) at 40% concentration. The following groups were formed: control without glass addition OS; addition of unsilanized NbG (OSNbG); addition of silanized NbG (OSNbGS); control without glass PB; addition of unsilanized NbG (PBNbG); addition of silanized NbG (PBNbGS). The DC was determined using total Fourier spectroscopy reflection (FTIR/ATR). For μTBS testing, 48 human third molars (n=8) were restored and sliced to obtain specimens (0.8 mm2) and they were tested at two different time intervals: immediately and after 6 months. The fracture mode was evaluated with a stereoscopic loupe (40×) and by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The data were subjected to ANOVA and Tukey tests (a=0.05). NbG addition did not compromise the adhesive system DC values (p>0.05). Furthermore, the NbG added to the adhesive systems did not affect μTBS values (p>0.05). Fracture occurred predominantly at the dentin-adhesive interface. NbG bioactive glass did not affect the DC or microtensile bond strength results.

Influence of alloy microstructure on the microshear bond strength of basic alloys to a resin luting cement

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of microstructure and composition of basic alloys on their microshear bond strength (µSBS) to resin luting cement. The alloys used were: Supreme Cast-V (SC), Tilite Star (TS), Wiron 99 (W9), VeraBond II (VBII), VeraBond (VB), Remanium (RM) and IPS d.SIGN 30 (IPS). Five wax patterns (13 mm in diameter and 4mm height) were invested, and cast in a centrifugal casting machine for each basic alloy. The specimens were embedded in resin, polished with a SiC paper and sandblasted. After cleaning the metal surfaces, six tygon tubes (0.5 mm height and 0.75 mm in diameter) were placed on each alloy surface, the resin cement (Panavia F) was inserted, and the excess was removed before light-curing. After storage (24 h/37°C), the specimens were subjected to µSBS testing (0.5 mm/min). The data were subjected to a one-way repeated measures analysis of variance and Turkeys test (α=0.05). After polishing, their microstructures were revealed with specific conditioners. The highest µSBS (mean/standard deviation in MPa) were observed in the alloys with dendritic structure, eutectic formation or precipitation: VB (30.6/1.7), TS (29.8/0.9), SC (30.6/1.7), with the exception of IPS (31.1/0.9) which showed high µSBS but no eutectic formation. The W9 (28.1/1.5), VBII (25.9/2.0) and RM (25.9/0.9) showed the lowest µSBS and no eutectic formation. It seems that alloys with eutectic formation provide the highest µSBS values when bonded to a light-cured resin luting cement.