Correlation between sealer penetration into dentinal tubules and bond strength of two new calcium silicate-based and an epoxy resin-based, endodontic sealer

Abstract

The relationship between sealer penetration into dentinal tubules and the bond strength of two new calcium silicate-based and epoxy resin-based endodontic sealers was evaluated. Thirty recently extracted human maxillary incisors were instrumented and divided into three groups according to the sealer used: (1) AH Plus; (2) iRoot SP; and (3) MTA Fillapex. Sealer penetration into dentinal tubules was measured using CLSM. Then, a universal testing machine was used to compare the push-out bond strengths of the sealers to the root canal dentin. AH Plus and MTA Fillapex exhibited significantly higher sealer penetration than iRoot SP did (p > .05). The push-out bond strengths of AH Plus and iRoot SP were higher than that of MTA Fillapex. We concluded that greater penetration of the sealer into the dentinal tubules was not associated with higher bond strength among the three sealers tested.