Dentin permeation: comparison of diffusion with filtration

A comparison was made between the rate of iodide permeation of dentin by diffusion and by filtration. Before acid etching, filtration only doubled the rate of iodide permeation relative to that obtained by diffusion. After acid etching, filtration produced a 32-fold increase in permeation. Acid etching, by removing occluding debris, facilitates filtration more than diffusion.