Objective: The presence of arsenic in various types of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and Portland cements were evaluated to verify if they comply with the ISO-recommended limit for water-based cements of 2 mg arsenic/kg material.
Study design: An amount of 5 mL of hydrochloric acid was added to 2 g each of MTA and Portland cement to be analyzed. After 15 minutes, the material was filtered and the volume of supernatant was diluted with reagent-grade water up to 40 mL. Atomic absorption spectrophotometry readings were performed in triplicate.
Results: The following mean values were obtained: CPM (Egeo, Buenos Aires, Argentina) 11.06 mg/kg; CPM sealer (Egeo) 10.30 mg/kg; MTA-Obtura (Angelus, Londrina, PR, Brazil) 0.39 mg/kg; Experimental MTA: 10.30 mg/kg; White MTA-Angelus (Angelus) 1.03 mg/kg; Gray MTA-Angelus (Angelus) 5.91 mg/kg; ProRoot-MTA (Dentsply/Tulsa Dental Specialties, Tulsa, OK) 5.25 mg/kg; Gray Portland cement (Votorantim Cimentos, Cubatão, SP, Brazil): 34.27 mg/kg; and White Portland cement (Cimento Rio Branco, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil) 0.52 mg/kg.
Conclusion: All tested materials presented arsenic in their composition. The form of arsenic was not analyzed nor the toxicity of the arsenic found. Only MTA-Obtura, White MTA-Angelus, and White Portland cement presented arsenic levels below the limit set in the ISO 9917-1 standard.