Assessment of Kangen Water as a Storage Media for Maintaining Viability of Periodontal Ligament Cells of Avulsed Teeth: An Ex Vivo Study.

Abstract

Aim and background: Avulsion is the most complex traumatic dental injury (TDI) encountered. Treatment modality is immediate replantation or prompt storage of tooth. Storage is the most common modality. Hanks' balanced salt solution (HBSS) and normal saline are some investigated and efficient storage media to maintain periodontal ligament cell viability. Kangen water is alkalinized water enriched with minerals; thus, it can be used as a storage media. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the efficacy of Kangen water as a storage media.

Material and methods: Teeth extracted for orthodontic purposes were included and disinfected. Extracted tissues were transferred to a Petri dish consisting of the respective storage media. Normal saline (pH 5.5): group A and HBSS (pH 7.2): group B, Kangen water (pH 8.5): group C, (pH 9.0): group D, and (pH 9.5): group E were study groups. Samples were stained using trypan blue exclusion staining, and cell viability was assessed at 0.5, 1, 2, 6, 24, and 48 hours using a hemocytometer. Data was analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by post hoc analysis.

Results: Hence, it can be suggested that group B was most efficient in maintaining cell viability at all study time intervals and highly significant on statistical analysis with a p-value <0.05, followed by groups C, D, E, and A.

Conclusion: Kangen water can be used as a storage media/interim transport media. It will be commonly used for domestic purposes. Thus, it will become feasible and easily available.

Clinical significance: Kangen water has properties such as alkaline pH, capable of maintaining cell viability, easily available, and cost-effective. Hence, it can be recommended as a storage media and can be made easily available in areas with a higher incidence of trauma, such as schools, ground, sports complexes, and home.

How to cite this article: Desai A, Kariya PB. Assessment of Kangen Water as a Storage Media for Maintaining Viability of Periodontal Ligament Cells of Avulsed Teeth: An Ex Vivo Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2025;18(5):539-543.