Investigation of the effect of indirect pulp capping materials on dentin mineral density

Aim: To evaluate the potential of inducing mineral density changes of indirect pulp capping materials applied to demineralized dentin. Methods: A total of 50 cavities were prepared, 5 in each tooth, in extracted ten molars without caries, impacted or semi-embedded. The cavities were scanned by microcomputed tomography (μ-CT) after creating artificial caries by microcosm method (pre-treatment). Each cavity was subjected to one of 5 different experimental conditions: control (dental wax), conventional glass ionomer cement (Fuji IX GP Extra), resin-modified calcium silicate (TheraCal LC), resin-modified calcium hydroxide (Ultra-Blend Plus), MTA (MM-MTA) and the samples were kept under intrapulpal pressure using simulated body fluid for 45 days. Then, the second μ-CT scan was performed (post-treatment), and the change in dentin mineral density was calculated. Afterward, elemental mapping was performed on the dentinal surfaces adjacent to the pulp capping agents of 5 randomly selected samples using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) apparatus attached to a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The Ca/P ratio by weight was calculated. Friedman test and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test were used to analyze the data. Results: There was a significant increase in mineral density values of demineralized dentin after treatment for all material groups (p<0.05). Resin-modified calcium silicate had similar efficacy to MTA and conventional glass ionomer cement, but was superior to resin-modified calcium hydroxide in increasing the mineral density values of demineralized dentin. Conclusions: Demineralized dentin tissue that is still repairable can be effectively preserved using materials with remineralization capability.