Investigation of a novel biomaterial for use in dental applications

Abstract

Mineral Trioxide Aggregate (MTA) was introduced in 1995 as a dental material for use as a root-end filler during surgery. MTA is composed of 80% Portland cement and 20% bismuth oxide. Its main advantages are its ability to set and develop its properties in a humid environment (such as the human body) and its bioactivity. Bioactivity refers to the formation of hydroxyapatite, a material identical to the mineral phase of human bone from the reaction of calcium hydroxide produced by MT A and tissue fluid in the surgical site. The disadvantages of MT A include high cost, low compressive strength, poor handling qualities (the material is difficult to place) and long setting time (around 3 hours), which consequently results in a high risk of washout (disintegration of the cement paste upon early contact with fluids). This project aims at investigating the properties of novel material formulations, based on MTA, which are intended to have drastically reduced setting times Four materials were tested: MTA-Plus™ mixed with water (MTA); MTA-Plus™ mixed with a proprietary commercial anti-washout gel (MTA-A W); MTA mixed with Superbond C&B, a dental chemical-curing resin (MT A-Chem); and MTA mixed with Heliobond®, a dental light-curing resin (MT A-Light).