Effects of Cleaning Solutions and Time-Point of Adhesive System Application on Pulp Chamber Dentin Impregnated with Endodontic Sealer.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of cleaning solutions on dentin impregnated with an epoxy resin-based endodontic sealer, using a self-etch adhesive system applied at different time-points, to understand how these factors affect the bonding of final restoration. METHODS This experimental study used 150 bovine incisors. Three cleaning protocols (ethanol (ET), xylol (XY) or an experimental solution (EX)) and 2 time-points of adhesive system application (immediate or after 7 days) were evaluated. The persistence of residues (PR), open dentinal tubules (ODT), microshear bond strength, failure mode, and dentinal penetrability of the adhesive system were analyzed. Kruskal-Wallis/Dunn's tests or 2-way ANOVA/Tukey's test (α = 0.05) were used. RESULTS Ethanol resulted in greater PR and fewer ODT, negatively affecting adhesive penetrability and bond strength, with worse results when adhesive system application is delayed (P < .05). The EX and XY solutions were more effective in removing sealer residues, opening dentinal tubules, adhesive penetrability, and microshear bond strength, regardless of the time-point of adhesive system application. CONCLUSION Xylol and EX solutions showed superior performance compared to ET. The findings suggest that while XY and EX allow the final restoration to be performed either immediately or after 7 days, the use of ET requires the restoration to be executed in the same session to ensure more favourable bonding to dentin.