Evaluating the Impact of Boric Acid at Varying Concentrations on the Microhardness of Dentine

Abstract

Introduction- Following mechanically driven drill post-space planning, a smear layer of endodontic filling material plasticized residues and dentin fragments forms over the dentin surface. Methodology: Fifty human teeth with a single root were selected, and the roots were assigned at random to five groups (n = 10) based on the irrigant utilised for five minutes: distilled water (DW), 17% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), 2% boric acid (BA), 5% BA, and 10% BA. Following the irrigation process, a Vickers indenter placed 100 μm from the root canal lumen was used to measure the dentin surface microhardness. Tukey's multiple comparison test (p = 0.05) and a two-way ANOVA test were used to compare each group. Results- The microhardness of the root canal dentin was lowered by all irrigation treatments. The root canal dentin's microhardness was least affected by the DW and 2% BA, but the 10% BA group showed a significant (p < 0.05) drop in surface microhardness. The 10% BA group's coronal third had the least percentage drop, with the apical and middle thirds differing significantly (p < 0.05).  Conclusion; the microhardness of root canal dentin was found to be similarly affected by 5% BA and 17% EDTA in this investigation. Additional clinical investigation is necessary to assess the safety and biocompatibility of BA solutions.