Desensitization of dentin by resin impregnation: a clinical and light-microscopic investigation

Desensitization of dentin by resin impregnation and the pulpal effect of impregnation procedures were studied in fifty-one pairs of contralateral exposures located on cuspal tips of young premolars. One surface in each pair was impregnated. Pretreatment consisted of etching, antibacterial cleaning and desiccation. Concise Enamel Bond was used for impregnation. Excess was removed or reduced before polymerization. The sensitivity to probing and compressed air was tested after seven to eighteen days. The impregnated surface was less sensitive than the untreated one in forty-one pairs. No difference was reported by nine patients. Twenty-nine impregnated and three untreated surfaces were insensitive to testing. In most histologically examined teeth, impregnated or not, a local, slight inflammation was seen in the pulp horn. Microorganisms usually penetrated some dentinal tubules. Resin impregnation as applied in the present study could reduce or eliminate the sensitivity of exposed dentin, but did not prevent infectious irritation of the pulp.