A comparative study of selected properties of ProRoot mineral trioxide aggregate and two Portland cements

Aim To compare solubility, microhardness and radiopacity of ProRoot mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) with two Portland cements (PC: CEM I and CEM II). Methodology Solubility: for standardized samples (n = 12/group) ring moulds were filled with the cements. These samples were immersed in double-distilled water for 1 min, 10 min, 1 h, 24 h, 72 h, and 28 days. Mean loss of weight was determined. Microhardness: five samples of each cement were produced. All samples were loaded with a diamond indenter point with a weight of 100 g for 30 s. Radiopacity: five samples per cement were produced. These samples were tested according to the ISO standards to compare their radiodensity to that of an aluminium step wedge (1-9 mm). Differences between the three materials with respect to their solubility, microhardness and radiopacity were analysed using ANOVA and Student-Newman-Keuls. Results After 28 days MTA was of low solubility (0.78%) compared with CEM I (31.38%) and CEM II (33.33%). At exposure times > 1 min the two PCs were significantly more soluble than MTA (P < 0.05). The microhardness for MTA was significantly higher (39.99 HV; P < 0.001) compared with the two PC (CEM I: 16.32 HV; CEM II: 13.51 HV). MTA was significantly more radiopaque (5.34 mm Al) than CEM I (3.32 mm Al) and CEM II (2.52 mm Al) (P < 0.05), whereas CEM I was significantly more radiopaque than CEM II (P < 0.05). Conclusions Mineral trioxide aggregate displayed superior material properties than both Portland cements.