THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT CURING TIME ON CYTOTOXICITY AND SOLUBILITY OF RESIN MODEFIED CALCIUM CONTAINING PULP CAPING MATERIAL

Abstract

This study was aimed to evaluate the solubility, water sorption and cytotoxicity of resin modified light cured calcium silicate pulp capping material (TheraCal) with different light curing times. This material was introduced recently to overcome many drawbacks of previous materials, as: solubility of calcium hydroxide, difficulty in manipulation and long setting of MTA. Sixty specimens of Theracal were prepared and divided into two groups: 30 were subjected to cytotoxicity test, and 30 for solubility and water sorption testing, and each group was further divided into three sub groups according to the time of light curing: 20s,15s, and 10s curing times. The specimens were prepared in specially fabricated Teflon mold with dimensions of (8x1mm). The solubility of the material was assessed according to the American Dental Association (ADA) for water-based dental cements and International Standard Organization (ISO) no. 6876 for root canal sealing materials. After preparation, specimens were weighed five times to produce a mean using an electronic sensitive balance, and the initial dry mass M1 was recorded for each specimen, then each specimen was incubated in 10 ml distilled water at 37 C̊ for 24 hours, after that the specimens were removed from the water, blotted dry and weighed individually five times to produce the mean and a wet mass M2 was recorded, then the specimens were dried using a desiccator and weighed daily five times until reaching a constant mass (nearest 0.001g) and the final dry mass M3 was recorded (M3 was reached after 3 days of weighing).