Effect of chitosan nanoparticle, QMix, and EDTA on TotalFill BC sealers' dentinal tubule penetration: a confocal laser scanning microscopy study

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to compare the effect of chitosan nanoparticle, QMix, and 17% EDTA on the penetrability of a calcium silicate-based sealer into dentinal tubules using a confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM). Sixty mandibular premolar teeth were selected and randomly divided into three groups (n=20) before root canal preparation according to the solution used in the final rinse protocol: chitosan, QMix, and EDTA groups. Twenty teeth of each group were filled with a TotalFill BC sealers' single gutta-percha cone and with 0.1% rhodamine B. The specimens were horizontally sectioned at 3 and 5mm from the apex, and the slices were analyzed in CLSM (4x). Total percentage and maximum depth of sealer penetration were measured using confocal laser scanning microscopy with using Image J analysis software. Dentinal tubule's penetration depth, percentage, and area were measured using imaging software. Kruskal-Wallis test was used for statistical analysis. The level of significance was set at 5%. Results of Kruskal-Wallis analysis showed that there was a significant difference in the percentage and depth of sealer penetration among all groups at 3 and 5mm level sections (P<0.05). Within the groups, the minimum sealer penetration depth was recorded for chitosan nanoparticle group. Greater depth of sealer penetration was recorded at 5mm as compared to 3mm in all the groups. Within the limitation of the present study, it can be concluded that QMix and EDTA promoted sealer penetration superior to that achieved by chitosan nanoparticle.