Assessment of Cytotoxicity of Endodontic Sealers
In vitro study by Miletic et al. in Croatia was recently published in Journal of Endodontic Research ( Endodontic Articles 16) to examine the cytotoxicity and mutagenicity effect of AH26 and AH Plus ( Dentsply, DeTrey) that are used as sealers during endodontic treatment. The aim of this study was to determine the cytotoxic and mutagenic effects of AH26 and AH Plus in vitro using a structural chromosomal aberration analysis and micronucleus test.
The sealers were mixed according to the manufacturer’s instructions in aseptic conditions. In one group of experiments, the mixed material was set for 1 h and crushed; then the material was eluted with dimethyl sulphoxide ( DMSO) for 1h, 24 h and 7 days. In the other group of experiments, the material was set for 1 h, 24 h or 7 days in a physiological saline and eluted using the same protocol. The control samples were treated with DMSO diluted in the same way and added to the culture samples.
Cytotoxicity was examined using Chinese hamsterV79 cells by comparing the number of viable cells in treated samples with the corresponding number of viable cells in the control samples. On the other side, to determine the possible mutagenic effect of AH26 and AH Plus, two standard cytogenetic methods were used: the structural chromosomal aberration analysis and the micronucleus test. Both methods were performed on the cultures of human peripheral blood lymphocyte.
The cytotoxicity was dependent on concentration, setting time and the sealer used. Both materials exhibited reduced cytotoxicity when set for longer and did not have increased toxicity when eluted for a longer period. AH Plus showed significantly stronger cytotoxicity than AH26, both initially and after longer setting intervals.
In Conclusion. AH26 and AH Plus were shown to be cytotoxic in larger doses only, while there was no mutagenicity found in both materials on human lymphocytes in highly controlled conditions in vitro.
Reference:
Miletic et al. Journal of Endodontic Research ( Endodontic Articles 16)
