Microleakage of self-etch primer/adhesives in endodontically treated teeth

The authors evaluated the coronal marginal leakage of endodontically treated teeth bonded with four self-etching adhesives and one total-etch adhesive system.

The investigators prepared Class II cavities in 60 extracted human premolars. They performed conventional endodontic therapy using a resin-based sealer and gutta-percha points. They randomly assigned each tooth to a group receiving one of the following adhesives: Adper Prompt L-Pop (3M ESPE, Seefeld, Germany), Clearfil SE Bond (Kuraray, Osaka, Japan), FL Bond (Shofu, Kyoto, Japan), Single Bond (3M ESPE) or Xeno III (Dentsply De Trey, Konstanz, Germany). They restored all teeth with resin-based composite material (Z250, 3M ESPE). Specimens underwent thermocycling and dye penetration and were sectioned longitudinally. The authors photographed the sections under a stereomicroscope. They transferred the images to an IBM-compatible personal computer for quantitative assessment of dye penetration using image analysis software. They analyzed data by means of Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests (P = .05) and evaluated two specimens from each group under scanning electron microscopy.

None of the tested self-etch adhesives completely eliminated microleakage. Dye leakage was restricted to the coronal cavity walls; it did not migrate toward the pulp chamber or toward the root canal. Single Bond and Clearfil SE Bond showed significantly lower dye penetration values at occlusal and gingival margins.

The coronal sealing performance of the tested self-etch adhesive systems in endodontically treated teeth was material-dependent. The use of Clearfil SE Bond in such teeth can help achieve a marginal seal comparable to that achieved with Single Bond.