Resistance to compressive force in continuous chelation

Continuous chelation involves the simultaneous use of sodium hypochlorite and a chelating agent. Given the combination of a proteolytic agent and a demineralising chelator, this study aimed to investigate whether mixtures containing the weak chelators etidronate or clodronate and sodium hypochlorite could adversely affect the mechanical strength of teeth compared to the sequence sodium hypochlorite/EDTA/sodium hypochlorite. Matching pairs of bovine teeth were tested on a universal testing machine, and the compressive load at fracture was recorded. One root from each pair was prepared with the sequence, and the matching tooth was prepared with either water, the clodronate mixture or the etidronate mixture. No differences in load at fracture were seen between either mixture and the sequence. However, loads were higher in the teeth irrigated with water compared to the sequence. The results indicated that the continuous chelation mixtures did not alter tooth mechanical properties compared to the standard sequence.