SORPTION AND SOLUBILITY OF ENDODONTIC SEALERS INCORPORATED WITH SILVER-BASED ADDITIVES

Purpose: To evaluate the sorption and solubility of endodontic sealers modified with silver-based additives. Methods: Sealer 26, AH Plus, and Endofill were manipulated according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Silver zinc zeolite (Irgaguard ® B5000) (10%) or silver sodium zirconium hydrogen phosphate (AlphaSan ® R7000) (10%) were added to the sealers. For the sorption and solubility assays, 45 circular samples (8.0x2.0mm) were prepared and divided into nine groups (N=5), according to the material (pure or modified). The samples were placed in a desiccator (37 o C, 24h) until constant mass (M1) was achieved. Then, the samples were immersed in distilled water (48h) and weighed again (M2). To achieve constant mass (M3), the samples were again placed in a desiccator (24h). Sorption and solubility were calculated on the basis of the equations (M2-M3)/V and (M1-M3)/V. The data were statistically analyzed (Anova, Tukey, p≤0.05). Results: The results were as follows: Sealer 26, sorption = 8.3±0.5mg/mm 3 and solubility = 3.4±0.7mg/mm 3 ; Endofill, sorption = 8.0±0.2mg/mm 3 and solubility = 3.6±0.4mg/mm 3 . AH Plus presented the lowest values (p≤0.05) of sorption (4.8±0.7mg/mm 3 ) and solubility (1.2±0.9mg/mm 3 ). Incorporation of Irgaguard ® B5000 reduced the sorption and the solubility of the materials (p≤0.05). Addition of Alphasan ® R7000 did not alter significantly the properties of any of the endodontic sealers. Conclusion: Only the incorporation of Irgaguard ® B5000 reduced the sorption and the solubility (p≤0.05) of the endodontic sealers evaluated herein.