Comparative analysis of human and bovine teeth: radiographic density

Since bovine teeth have been used as substitutes for human teeth in in vitro dental studies, the aim of this study was to compare the radiographic density of bovine teeth with that of human teeth to evaluate their usability for radiographic studies. Thirty bovine and twenty human teeth were cut transversally in 1 millimeter-thick slices. The slices were X-rayed using a digital radiographic system and an intraoral X-ray machine at 65 kVp and 7 mA. The exposure time (0.08 s) and the target-sensor distance (40 cm) were standardized for all the radiographs. The radiographic densities of the enamel, coronal dentin and radicular dentin of each slice were obtained separately using the "histogram" tool of Adobe Photoshop 7.0 software. The mean radiographic densities of the enamel, coronal dentin and radicular dentin were calculated by the arithmetic mean of the slices of each tooth. One-way ANOVA demonstrated statistically significant differences for the densities of bovine and human enamel (p < 0.05) and for bovine and human coronal dentin (p < 0.05). No statistically significant differences were found for the bovine and human radicular dentin (p > 0.05). Based on the results, the authors concluded that: a) the radiographic density of bovine enamel is significantly higher than that of human enamel; b) the radiodensity of bovine coronal dentin is statistically lower than the radiodensity of human coronal dentin; bovine radicular dentin is also less radiodense than human radicular dentin, although this difference was not statistically significant; c) bovine teeth should be used with care in radiographic in vitro studies

Immediate and delayed solubility of mineral trioxide aggregate and Portland cement

This study investigated the solubility of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and Portland cement since its mixture until 672 hours, by means of two complimentary methods. Metal ring molds filled with the cements were covered with distilled water and, at each experimental time (3, 24, 72, 168, 336 and 672 hours), were weighed as soon as the plates in which the samples have been placed. Empty rings served as the control group (n=8). Mean weight gain and loss was determined and analyzed statistically by two-way ANOVA and Tukey's test for all pairwise comparisons. Only Portland cement showed less than 3% weight loss through 24 hours. Detached MTA residues were heavier than those of Portland cement over the 3 to 168 hours. The weight of MTA rings increased more than that of Portland rings within 672 hours (p=0.05). The findings of the present study indicate that, in an aqueous environment MTA is more soluble than Portland cement and exceeds the maximum weight loss considered acceptable by ISO 6876 standard (2001)