Cytotoxicity and bioactivity of various pulpotomy materials on stem cells from human exfoliated primary teeth

Aims To investigate the cytotoxicity and bioactivity of several pulpotomy materials: Biodentine (Septodont, Saint‐Maur‐des‐Fosses, France) MTA (Angelus, Londrina, PR, Brazil), Theracal LC (Bisco Inc., Schamburg, IL, USA) and IRM (Dentsply DeTrey GmbH, Konstanz, Germany), after contact with stem cells isolated from human exfoliated primary teeth (SHEDs). Methodology SHEDs were cultured in the presence of the eluates of various pulpotomy materials for 24, 48 and 72 h. Cell viability was determined by mitochondrial dehydrogenase enzymatic (MTT) assay. Apoptosis and changes in cell phenotype were evaluated by flow cytometry. Also, an in vitro scratch wound‐healing assay was used to determine their effects on cell migration. To assess cell morphology and attachment to the different pulpotomy materials, SHEDs were directly seeded onto the material surfaces and analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Finally, the deposition of a calcified matrix in presence of these materials was verified by Alizarin Red staining. Statistical analysis was performed with analysis of variance and Bonferroni or Tukey post‐test (α = 0.05). Results Cell viability in the presence of Biodentine eluates was significantly higher to that obtained using complete medium alone (control; P