Analysis of methodologies for evaluating the solubility of calcium silicate-based sealer Bio-C Sealer

Introduction: Calcium silicate-based sealers demonstrate greater solubility in distilled water. The use of alternative methodologies can help at better understanding the solubility of these materials. Objective: To evaluate the effect of the immersion solution and the type of experimental model on the solubility of ready-to-use Bio-C Sealer. Material and method: Circular models of polyethylene or bovine dentin (n = 16) were made. After insertion of the sealer, the specimens were kept in an oven at 37°C and 95% humidity for 48h. Subsequently, the samples were weighed on a precision balance to determine the initial mass. Next, the specimens were immersed in 7.5 mL of distilled water (pH 6.5) or PBS (pH 7.0) (n = 8) for 28 days. After that, the samples were removed from the solutions and weighed every 24 hours until the final mass stabilized (0.001g). Test specimens made with Bio-C Sealer were used as a control. Solubility was evaluated according to the difference between the initial and final mass in percentage. Two-Way ANOVA test and Tukey post-hoc tests were performed (α=0.05). Result: Immersion in distilled water provided greater solubility compared to PBS regardless of the experimental model (p<0.05). The test specimens showed greater solubility, followed by polyethylene and dentin models immersed in distilled water (p<0.05). There was no difference between the experimental models immersed in PBS (p>0.05). Conclusion: Bio-C Sealer presents significantly greater solubility in distilled water than in PBS under all conditions. Experimental model using bovine dentin and PBS as an immersion solution demonstrates reduction in the mass loss of Bio-C Sealer and can be a valuable alternative for evaluating the solubility of bioceramic sealers.