Objectives: The aim was to test the properties of experimental calcium silicate/calcium phosphate biphasic cements with hydraulic properties designed for vital pulp therapy as direct pulp cap and pulpotomy.
Methods: CaSi-αTCP and CaSi-DCDP were tested for ion-releasing ability, solubility, water sorption, porosity, ability to nucleate calcium phosphates, and odontoblastic differentiation—alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and osteocalcin (OCN) upregulation—of primary human dental pulp cells (HDPCs).
Results: The materials showed high Ca and OH release, high open pore volume and apparent porosity, and a pronounced ability to nucleate calcium phosphates on their surface. HDPCs treated with CaSi-αTCP showed a strong upregulation of ALP and OCN genes, namely a tenfold increase for OCN and a threefold increase for ALP compared to the control cells. Conversely, CaSi-DCDP induced a pronounced OCN gene upregulation but had no effect on ALP gene regulation.
Conclusions: Both cements showed high biointeractivity (release of Ca and OH ions) correlated with their marked ability to nucleate calcium phosphates. CaSi-αTCP cement proved to be a potent inducer of ALP and OCN genes as characteristic markers of mineralization processes normally poorly expressed by HDPCs.
Clinical relevance: Calcium silicate/calcium phosphate cements appear to be attractive new materials for vital pulp therapy as they may provide odontogenic/dentinogenic chemical signals for pulp regeneration and healing, and dentin formation in regenerative endodontics.
Keywords: Alkaline phosphatase; Biointeractivity; Calcium phosphate cements; Calcium release; Calcium silicate cements; Dentine regeneration; Genes activation; MTA; Osteocalcin; Porosity; Pulp cells; Pulp therapy; Regenerative dentistry; Solubility; pH.