Rate of formation of tertiary dentin in dogs' teeth in response to lining materials.

The rate of tertiary dentin produced in response to four lining materials placed in standardized cavities in dogs' teeth was measured over a period of 119 days. Sterile denatured dentin ash was used as a control material in an attempt to quantify tertiary dentin formation in response to cavity preparation. In all periods the amounts of tertiary dentin formed beneath the control material were significantly smaller than those formed beneath any of the four lining materials. In the first 98 days the rate of formation of tertiary dentin beneath calcium hydroxide (Calxyl) was significantly greater than that beneath the material containing corticosteroid (Ledermix cement). In the last 21 days there was no difference in daily rates of tertiary dentin production beneath all of the lining materials. With all the lining materials there was a highly significant difference between the daily amounts of tertiary dentin formed in the first 6 weeks and those in the last 11 weeks.