In vitro comparison of three materials as apical sealants of equine premolar and molar teeth.

This study investigates the sealing efficiency of three dental restorative materials (reinforced zinc oxide-eugenol cement, intermediate restorative material, and amalgam) used to plug the root ends of horse teeth during endodontic procedures. The study finds that all three materials work comparably in the lab scenario, but the intermediate restorative material is considered superior due to its ease of utilization and better resistance against environmental moisture.

Study Design and Methodology

• The research was carried out in a controlled in vitro setting. This means that the tests were performed outside the living organisms, using teeth that had been extracted from horses.
• A total of thirty teeth were obtained and randomly distributed into three groups. Each group represented a type of sealing material, namely, the reinforced zinc oxide-eugenol cement, intermediate restorative material, and amalgam.
• The horse teeth underwent apicoectomy, a surgical removal of the root tip, followed by sealing with the assigned restorative material.
• Thereafter, each tooth was steeped in Procion Brilliant Cresyl Blue stain for a full week. This was done to detect any leakage around the restorative seal by visualizing the dye penetration.

Observations and Results

• All three materials used for sealing the root ends demonstrated dye leakage to varying degrees, indicating they weren’t completely sealed.
• However, the findings did not reveal a statistical difference between the materials in terms of their sealing ability (P = 0.114). This indicates that all three materials performed comparably well and there was no significant difference in their effectiveness.

Conclusions and Recommendations

• While all three materials showed similar performance in terms of in vitro sealing ability, the study highlights the practical advantages of the Intermediate Restorative Material (IRM) over the other two.
• IRM is easier to handle during clinical application and exhibits lesser sensitivity towards environmental moisture, making it a favorable choice for clinical situations.
• The study contributes to the existing knowledge about the effectiveness of different sealing materials used in equine dental surgeries and helps guide more informed decisions in the field of equine dentistry.