This beagle
pulpotomy study compared the inflammatory response and mineralization-inducing potential of three
calcium silicate cements: ProRoot
mineral trioxide aggregate (
MTA) (
Dentsply, Tulsa, OK, USA),
OrthoMTA (BioMTA, Seoul, Korea), and
Endocem MTA (Maruchi, Wonju, Korea). Exposed pulp tissues were capped with
ProRoot MTA,
OrthoMTA, or
Endocem MTA. After 8 weeks, we extracted the teeth, then performed
hematoxylin-
eosin and immunohistochemical staining with
osteocalcin and
dentin sialoprotein. Histological evaluation comprised a scoring system with eight broad categories and analysis of calcific barrier areas. We evaluated 44 teeth capped with
ProRoot MTA (n = 15),
OrthoMTA (n = 18), or
Endocem MTA (n = 11). Most
ProRoot MTA specimens formed continuous calcific barriers; these pulps contained
inflammation-free palisading patterns in the odontoblastic layer. Areas of the newly formed calcific barrier were greater with
ProRoot MTA than with
Endocem MTA (p = 0.006). Although
dentin sialoprotein was highly expressed in all three groups, the
osteocalcin expression was reduced in the
OrthoMTA and
Endocem MTA groups.
ProRoot MTA was superior to
OrthoMTA and
Endocem MTA in all histological analyses.
ProRoot MTA and
OrthoMTA resulted in reduced pulpal
inflammation and more complete calcific barrier formation, whereas
Endocem MTA caused a lower level of calcific barrier continuity with tunnel defects.