What question did this study set out to answer?

This study examines how different vehicles and insertion techniques affect calcium hydroxide paste penetration into dentinal tubules.

May 8, 2026Open Access

Impact of vehicle and insertion method on intratubular penetration of calcium hydroxide pastes: an in vitro confocal laser microscopy analysis

Key Points

This study examines how different vehicles and insertion techniques affect calcium hydroxide paste penetration into dentinal tubules.
Eighty single-rooted premolars were standardized and prepared, then assigned to eight groups.
Calcium hydroxide paste was mixed with 0.1% Rhodamine dye, inserted, and analyzed with confocal microscopy.
Statistical analysis was conducted using Student’s t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Tukey’s post hoc tests.
Significant penetration differences were found between various methods, particularly KF vs. EC and KF vs. UA at both depths (p < .05).
Ultracal XS showed enhanced penetration with ultrasonic activation, outperforming K-file at 2 mm.
No significant differences for maximum penetration depth were noted at 5 mm.

Abstract

PurposeThis study aimed to evaluate the effect of different vehicles and insertion/agitation methods on the penetration of calcium hydroxide (CH) paste into dentinal tubules.Materials and methodsEighty single-rooted premolars were standardized to 12 mm, prepared using the ProDesign 40.05 instrument, and randomly assigned to eight experimental groups (n = 10): CH–propylene glycol/camphorated paramonochlorophenol (PG/CPMC) + K-file (KF), CH–PG/CPMC + XP Clean (XP), CH–PG/CPMC + Easy Clean (EC), CH–PG/CPMC + ultrasonic activation (UA); Ultracal XS (UC) + KF, UC + XP, UC + EC, and UC + UA. The CH paste was mixed with 0.1% Rhodamine dye and inserted into the specimens. Two 1-mm-thick sections were obtained at 2 mm and 5 mm from the apex, scanned using confocal microscopy, and analyzed with ImageJ software to calculate the percentage penetration and maximum penetration depth (MPD). Student’s t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Tukey’s post hoc tests were used for statistical analysis (P < .05).ResultsThe penetration of the PG/CPMC paste differed significantly between KF and EC, as well as between KF and UA, at both 5 mm (p< .05) and 2 mm (p < .05). UC showedenhanced penetration with UA, while EC outperformed KF at 2 mm. For MPD, no significant differences were observed at 5 mm.ConclusionBoth the insertion/agitation methods and paste formulations influenced the percentage penetration of the paste into the root canal lumen and dentinal tubules. At 2 mm, aqueous and viscous vehicles optimized MPD, particularly when combined with UA and EC.

Read Full Paperexternally

Bookmark

View Full Paper

Cite This Study

Barros et al. (Wed,) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69fd7e42bfa21ec5bbf0663a https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.26650/eor.20261667260

Bookmark

View Full Paper