Clastogenic activity of seven endodontic medications used in dental practice in human dental pulp cells

Numerous and varied chemical agents are used for endodontic treatments in dental practice. Endodontic medications are administered directly to the teeth in relatively high concentrations and chemical agents applied to enamel or dentin can penetrate the dental pulp tissue and circulate through the body in the bloodstream. In the present study, to assess safety regarding mutagenicity, we investigated the ability of seven endodontic medications to induce chromosome aberrations in human dental pulp cells. Chromosome aberrations were induced in cells treated with each of six endodontic medications, eugenol, guaiacol, modified phenol, phenol, thymol, and zinc oxide. The other endodontic medication, zinc chloride, failed to induce chromosome aberrations in the presence or absence of exogenous metabolic activation. The percentages of cells with polyploid or endoreduplication were not enhanced by any of the endodontic medications tested. Our results indicate that the endodontic medications that exhibited a positive response are potentially mutagenic to human cells.