Effect of phosphate buffer saline on coronal leakage of mineral trioxide aggregate

This study was carried out to compare the bacterial leakage of MTA used as a root-end filling material when it was kept in phosphate buffer saline (PBS) or normal saline. In this study, 72 freshly extracted teeth were used. The roots were randomly divided into four experimental groups of 15 each (groups I and II gutta-percha obturation + MTA, groups III and IV only MTA) and two positive and negative control groups of six each. The samples in groups I and III were kept in normal saline for 1 month while the samples in groups II and IV were kept in PBS. Enterococcus faecalis was used for determination of the bacterial penetration. Kaplan-Meier survival curve and chi(2) test were employed for data analysis. The obturated samples with root-end filling showed significantly longer duration of resistance to bacterial penetration than canals without obturation (P < 0.05). The roots that were placed in PBS (groups II and IV) showed significantly less bacterial penetration in comparison with the roots that were stored in normal saline (P < 0.05). In conclusion, MTA, which acts as a bioactive material, should be placed in a synthetic tissue fluid before any leakage evaluation.