Evaluation of Dentinal Tubule Penetration after the Use of Dentin Bonding Agent as a Root Canal Sealer

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of Excite DSC (Ivoclar Vivadent, Schaan, Liechtenstein), a dentin bonding agent, with AH-26 (Dentsply, Detrey, Germany) as a root canal sealer by evaluating the penetration depth into the dentinal tubules and the tag density of the two compounds. Methods: Forty-two extracted, single-rooted premolars were prepared and randomly obturated with either Excite DSC (n = 20) or AH-26 (n = 20). Two teeth were filled without sealer and used as controls. Randomly, one half of the specimens in each group (n = 10) was sectioned 3 days after obturation (short-term), and the other half (n = 10) was sectioned after 3 months (long-term). The specimens were sectioned perpendicular to the long axis in two regions and prepared for observation using scanning electron microscopy. Results: In the short-term evaluation, the mean penetration depth of AH-26 in the apical sections (520.48 mu mol/L) was significantly higher than that of Excite DSC (0.00 mu mol/L). In the long-term evaluation, AH-26 exhibited a significantly greater depth of penetration in both the apical (797.74 mu mol/L) and middle sections (1162.11 mu mol/L) than Excite DSC (321.43 mu mol/L and 657.72 mu mol/L, respectively). Conclusion: AH-26 showed more dentinal tubule penetration depth than Excite DSC in both evaluation periods. (J Endod 2009;35:1563-1566)