Method: Three luting cements were used. Meron Plus (hand mixed), Meron Plus AC (encapsulated) and Rebilda DC (gun mixed), all supplied by Voco (Cuxhaven, Germany). Three rectangular specimens (5mm x 4mm x 10mm) were prepared for each material. The cements were placed into a mould and stored for 24 hours. The specimens were scanned using micro CT (1072 SkyScan, Aartselaar, Belgium). 500 slices were reconstructed using the NRecon software and then were analyzed three dimensionally with the CTAn software. Four porosity percentage readings were taken for each specimen and statistically analyzed with a Mann-Witney non-parametric test.
Results: Rebilda DC cement exhibited the least porosity (7.5 %). Mixing method had an effect on porosity. The hand mixed Meron Plus cement demonstrated statistically significant (p<0.05) less porosity (11.2) than the encapsulated rotary mixed Meron Plus AC cement which had the highest porosity (13.9 %).
Conclusion: The method of mixing affected the porosity of cements and this could have an effect on their mechanical properties.