THE EFFECTS OF INTRACANAL MEDICAMENTS, FILLERS, AND SEALERS ON THE ATTACHMENT OF HUMAN GINGIVAL FIBROBLASTS TO AN EXPOSED DENTIN SURFACE FREE OF A SMEAR LAYER

TO DATE THERE HAS BEEN VERY LITTLE RESEARCH into the possible effects of endodontic therapy on regeneration of the lost periodontal attachme nt. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of endodont ic medicaments on fibroblast attachment to dentin surfaces free of a s mear layer. Pulp chambers of extracted third molars were filled with o ne of the following medicaments:gutta-percha with Roth's zinc oxide an d eugenol-based sealer, warm gutta-percha with sealer, warm gutta-perc ha without sealer, calcium hydroxide, formocresol, cotton pellet, or l eft empty. A predetermined dentin surface area was then inoculated wit h human gingival fibroblasts at a concentration of 2 x 10(4) cells per mi. The cells were allowed to adhere to the dentin surface for either 4 or 24 hours, then cell attachment was quantified using a methyl-tet razolium assay, The data were analyzed using a Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance and Dunn's multiple comparison test. It was deter mined that fibroblast attachment was significantly reduced when expose d to formocresol or warm gutta-percha without sealer at both the 4 and 24 hour interval (P less than or equal to 0.05). This suggests that t he use of formocresol or warm gutta-percha without sealer in a root ca nal may impede periodontal wound healing and regeneration.