Evaluation of chemical composition of root canal dentin between two age groups using different irrigating solutions: An in vitro sem-eds study

The study aimed to evaluate and compare the effect of different irrigating solutions on the chemical composition of root canal dentin between two age groups.Sixty-six extracted single rooted human premolar teeth were decoronated and longitudinally sectioned to expose canals. Root halves were divided into 2 groups and 3 sub-groups based on the irrigation protocol. Samples were evaluated for mineral content with Scanning Electron Microscope/Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM/EDS). The data were analyzed statistically.Results revealed a statistically significant difference in calcium levels of younger age group, with higher levels for SmearClear (19.1±1.31) when compared to MTAD (Mixture of Tetracycline Isomer, Acid and Detergent) (17.1±1.16), with p value 0.01. A statistically significant difference was observed in magnesium levels of younger age group, with higher levels for MTAD (0.95±0.21) when compared to SmearClear (0.82±0.22), with p value 0.05. Mean comparison of Ca/P ratio of younger age group, revealed higher values for SmearClear (1.71±0.14) when compared to MTAD (1.56±0.15), with p value 0.02.MTAD caused significantly greater loss of calcium, phosphorous, sodium and altered Ca/P ratio of root dentin among younger age group. On the other hand, loss of magnesium content was found to be higher within SmearClear sub group of younger age group (p=0.05).