In Vitro Evaluation of Different Solvents for Retrieval of Mineral Trioxide Aggregate and Calcium-Enriched Mixture

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of different solvents; carbonic acid (H2CO3), hydrochloric acid (HCl), chlorhexidine (CHX) and sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) on the surface hardness of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and calcium-enriched mixture (CEM) cement. METHODS AND MATERIALS Plexiglass molds were prepared and filled with Angelus MTA or CEM cement and then exposed to 2% carbonic acid, 37% hydrochloric acid, 2% chlorhexidine, 5.25% sodium hypochlorite and normal saline at intervals of 1 and 21 days, respectively (n=4). Surface microhardness of all specimens was analyzed by a universal testing machine and an electron microscope for some selected samples. Data were analyzed using the three-way ANOVA. Subgroup analysis was performed by Student's t-test, One-way ANOVA and Tukey's tests. The level of significance was set at 0.05. RESULTS On the first day, all solvents and on 21(st) day HCl, and H2CO3 were more effective in reducing the microhardness of MTA compared to CEM cement (P<0.05). CONCLUSION The two experimental cements were differently affected by the solvents at specific time intervals. The solvents were more effective on MTA.