Avaliação da radiopacidade dos cimentos CIMMO® DTA, CIMMO® HP, CIMMO® HD E BIO C® REPAIR ANGELUS® através de radiografia digital

Abstract

The aim of this study was to comparatively evaluate the radiopacity of the bioceramic cements CIMMO® DTA, CIMMO® HP, CIMMO® HD, and BIO-C® Repair Angelus®, by measuring the gray values obtained in digital radiographs. Five test specimens were prepared for each material, with a diameter of 4 mm and a thickness of 2 mm, molded in elastomer matrices. A 2 mm mesiodistal slice of a sound human molar and an aluminum step wedge with 12 steps were used as references. All samples were placed on photostimulable phosphor plates and radiographed using an X-ray unit operating at 70 kVp, 7 mA, and 0.032 s exposure. The images in TIFF format were analyzed using ImageJ software to determine the mean gray values. For statistical analysis, the Shapiro-Wilk and ANOVA tests were applied, followed by Tukey’s post hoc test, adopting a significance level of 5% (p  0,05). The results indicated a statistically significant difference among the evaluated materials (p < 0.001). CIMMO® DTA showed the highest radiopacity, followed by CIMMO® HP and BIO C® Repair, which did not differ from each other. CIMMO® HD exhibited the lowest values. Although all cements demonstrated radiopacity superior to that of dentin, only CIMMO® HD presented values lower than that of enamel. The discrepancy between radiographic performance and the declared composition suggests the possible presence of undisclosed radiopacifiers in CIMMO® cements. It is concluded that all materials meet the minimum regulatory requirements, but present distinct radiopacities, influenced by compositional and microstructural characteristics, reinforcing the relevance of independent analytical evaluation.