Influence of Incubation Duration on Bond Strength and Microhardness of Calcium Silicate-Based Materials

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of different incubation periods on the push-out bond strength and microhardness of calcium-silicate-based materials: MTA-Angelus, Biodentine and BIOfactor MTA. A total of 100 dentine discs were used for the push-out test. Three cavities were prepared on each dentine disc. Each cavity on the same disc was filled with MTA-Angelus, Biodentine or BIOfactor MTA. Half of the dentine samples were incubated at 37°C for 1 day, and the other half for 28 days (n = 50). Push-out testing was then performed. For the microhardness test, material discs were prepared by mixing the materials and placing them into Teflon moulds (n = 26). The samples were incubated at 37°C for either 1 day or 28 days (n = 13). Vickers microhardness testing was conducted. The data were statistically analysed. The results showed that Biodentine exhibited the highest bond strength and microhardness at both time points, while MTA-Angelus showed the lowest (p < 0.05). Overall, Biodentine demonstrated superior performance, while BIOfactor MTA showed promising but moderate results.