Demineralization of root canal dentine with EDTA and citric acid in different concentrations, pH and aplication times

Abstract The aims of the study are: 1. Determination of the amount of extracted Ca ions from den-tine using 17% and 10% EDTA, at pH 7 and pH 9. 2. Determination of the amount of extracted Ca ions from den-tine using citric acid 5% and 1%, at pH 7 and pH 9. Methodology 30 extracted, single rooted, human teeth were tested. Their crowns were sectioned at CEJ using diamond disks.The root ca-nals were manually prepared with K-files #50-60.After each ins-trument 2.5 ml of 5.25% NaOCl was used and 0.9 NaCl as final irrigation. All teeth were longitudinally sectioned and 8 samples of dentine taken from each sample. EDTA 10% and 17 % and citric acid 1% and 5% in neutral and alkaline pH were used. Each sam-ple was immersed in acid and then exposure time was evaluated after 1, 5, 10, 15 and 25 min. The release rate of calcium ions from root dentine was evalua-ted by atomic absorption spectrometer. Results There were significant differences in the amount of extracted Ca by citric acid 1% and 5% or EDTA 10% and 17% in human teeth. Conclusions It may be concluded that EDTA is a better chelating agent than citric acid. The decalcifying activity of these solutions is related to the duration of exposure, pH and their concentrations