Comparison of Flow and Solubility Properties of Mineral Trioxide Aggregate Cement with Two Additive Plasticizing Agents: An In Vitro Study

Abstract

Proposition: To evaluate the physical properties of flow and solubility of pure and improved mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) cement with the addition of two plasticizing agents: sodium ether polycarboxylate and sodium naphthalene sulfonate at three different concentrations. Material and Methods: Flow and solubility tests were carried out using the established methodology recommended by the 57 ANSI/ADA and ISO 6876:2012 standards. Pure MTA was used as control group and was compared to the MTA containing sodium ether polycarboxylate and sodium naphthalene sulfonate at concentrations of 0.5%, 1.0% and 1.5%. Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance followed by a post-hoc Tukey test at a 5% significance level. Results: Sodium ether polycarboxylate increased the MTA flow at the three concentrations. The flow increased with increasing concentration (P<0.05). Sodium sulfonate naphthalene also facilitated flow, though it was inferior to sodium ether polycarboxylate. Sodium naphthalene sulfonate promoted a significant increase in the solubility of MTA (p=0.000). Conclusions: The additives improved the physical properties of MTA. Sodium ether polycarboxylate was found to be superior to sodium naphthalene sulfonate at all concentrations.