Histological and ultrastructural evaluation of remaining dentin after selective caries removal in primary molars: Ex-vivo study

Aim: In this study, ultrastructural, chemical, and histological analyses of extracted deciduous teeth were performed to analyze the effect of two different types of glass ionomer cements used in association with selective caries removal in deep lesions of deciduous teeth. Methods: A clinical, ex vivo, longitudinal study was conducted. A total of 19 deciduous molars from 9 volunteer patients were used. The teeth were randomly restored with one of two types of glass ionomer cement following the selective caries removal technique. The groups were divided into a control group, which used Fuji IX (GC- Europe, Leuven, Belgium), and a test group, which used Maxxion R (FGM- Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil). After exfoliation, the teeth were stored at 4°C and subjected to scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical microscopy (OM), and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). Results: EDS analysis revealed that calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) were present in 100% of the specimens in both the control and test groups. Fluoride was found in 60% of the control group specimens and 63% of the test group specimens. OM images showed areas of mineralized dentin in both treatment groups. Conclusions: Selective caries removal for deep lesions in deciduous teeth was shown to be a safe therapeutic protocol, demonstrating signs of dentin mineralization and control of disease progression.