Abstract
The present study aimed to conserve dentin by rehardening demineralized root canal dentin which is completely removed during endodontic and/or prosthetic therapy as a general rule. Numerous previous studies have reported that hydroxyapatite (HA) is highly biocompatible in dentistry, does not hinder the body's healing ability, and possesses the ability to facilitate recalcification and hard tissue guidance. Therefore, HA was used in the present study.
As an underlying experiment, demineralized root canal dentin was artificially prepared. Nano-HA was applied to root canals, and subsequent rehardening of demineralized dentin was observed. Furthermore, rehardening was observed in the deep layer of root canal dentin.
By allowing nano-HA to act on root canals for a certain period of time, natural dentin strength could be regained, thus suggesting the possibility that demineralized root canal dentin that is removed during prosthetic therapy may be conserved in the future.
