Influence of dentinal polyelectrolytes on wet demineralized dentin,a bonding substrate

The objective of this study was to show the influence of dissolved dentinal polyelectrolytes on the characteristics of dentin (bonding substrate) demineralized by citric acid in the absence or presence of ferric chloride. The demineralizing agent was an aqueous mixture of 0, 1, 3, or 10% ferric chloride in 10% citric acid (10-0, 10-1, 10-3, 10-10, respectively). The hypothesis was that the concentration of dissolved dentinal noncollagenous substances, mainly polyelectrolytes soluble in water, must be decreased by their aggregation with ferric ions, which changes the characteristics of demineralized dentin, the rates of demineralization, and dehydration. Cervical bovine dentin was prepared in 3 x 2 x 2-mm blocks, each weighing 20.0 +/- 0.5 mg. The rate of demineralization was investigated by measuring the weight loss resulting from demineralization by immersion in 10 mL of conditioner at 2-h intervals. The dehydration rate of wet demineralized dentin was determined using two methods: (1) weight loss in a desiccator under 263 Pa pressure and (2) differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Twenty, 12, 8, and 4 h were required to complete demineralization of the blocks with the 10-0, 10-1, 10-3, and 10-10 solutions, respectively. The 10-10 wet demineralized dentin showed the highest rate of dehydration, followed in descending order by the 10-3, 10-1, and 10-0 specimens. Ferric chloride in dentin conditioners provided both a higher rate of dentin demineralization and a higher dehydration rate of wet demineralized dentin. These results suggest that in the presence of ferric chloride, a decreasing amount of dissolved polyelectrolytes aggregated with ferric ions in the substrates may increase the permeability of dentin to water and citric acid. Improvement of monomer permeability is essential to the preparation of good hybridized dentin, providing a more stable and reliable bonding and also protecting the dentin and pulp from infection. A further study of bonding substrates is required in order to understand the role of hybridized dentin in improved dental treatment.