Comparison of fracture resistance in root canals of immature sheep teeth after filling with calcium hydroxide or MTA

Thirty immature sheep incisor teeth were tested for their fracture resistance after various treatment modalities using calcium hydroxide (CH) or a mineral trioxide aggregate material (MTA(R)) as a root filling. The incisors, having approximately 80% of their root growth completed, were removed from jaws of slaughtered sheep and divided into four experimental groups. The pulps were extirpated from all the teeth through the open apexes. (a) Saline group: the teeth were preserved in saline for 100 days at 6 degrees C. (b) CH group: the root canals were filled with CH and sealed apically with IRM(R) and stored as above. (c) MTA(R) group: the canals were filled with MTA(R) and stored as above. (d) CH + MTA(R) group: the canals were filled with CH and sealed with IRM(R). After 30 days, the CH was replaced with MTA(R) and stored as above. At the end of the 100-day storage period, all teeth were embedded in plaster of Paris and tested for fracture strength at the cervical area in an Instron(R) testing machine. The results showed a decrease in fracture resistance (a) of the incisors with CH in the root canals after 100 days of storage, compared to (b) teeth stored in intracanal saline and (c) teeth with 30 days of CH and then filled with MTA(R), and (d) those filled with MTA in the canals. In conclusion, when CH was kept in the canals of immature sheep teeth for only 30 days followed by root filling with MTA(R) there was no significant decrease in strength of the root within an observation period of 100 days. This finding may be of importance in the decision of treatment plans for teeth with pulp necrosis and immature root formation.