cytotoxicity of two resin-based sealers and a fluoride varnish on human gingival fibroblasts

i ntroduction: assessment of cellular cytotoxicity is a regular method for evaluating the biocompatibility of novel materials. in a recent study, 5% fluoride varnish (duraflur) has shown reasonable sealing ability and coverage of root canal walls when used as a sealer. the aim of the present study was to compare cytotoxicity of duraflur varnish with two popular commonly used root canal sealers (ah-plus and ah-26) on human gingival fibroblasts (hgf). methods and materials: the hgfs were incubated with different concentrations (1/2, 1/4, and 1/8) of ah-plus, ah-26, and duraflur varnish for 24 h. the percentage of cell viability was assessed with methyl-thiazol-tetrazolium (mtt) assay. the data was analyzed using the one-way anova followed by student-newman-keuls test. the level of significance was set at 0.001. results: mtt assay showed that higher concentrations of the tested materials resulted in lower viability of hgfs. ah-plus showed significantly greater cell viability compared to ah-26 at all dilutions ( p <0.001); however, no significant difference was found between duraflur and ah-plus in terms of cell viability at 1/8 dilution ( p >0.001). duraflur showed significantly higher cell viability compared to ah-26 except at 1/2 dilution ( p <0.001). conclusion: although duraflur varnish had better biocompatibility compared to ah-26, it should still be evaluated with further biocompatibility tests such as intraosseous and subcutaneous implantation.