Purpose: EDC (1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide hydrochloride) can increase dentin bonding longevity. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of final irrigation of the root canal with EDC on the bond strength (BS) longevity of an epoxy resin-based root-canal sealer.
Materials and Methods: Twenty maxillary canines were sectioned and standardized for root length at 17 mm. Roots were instrumented and distributed into 2 groups according to the final irrigation protocol: EDTA 17%+NaOCl 2.5% (C) and EDTA 17%+NaOCl 2.5%+EDC 0.5M (EDC). The canals were dried and filled with AH Plus (Dentsply Sirona). Three slices were obtained per third, and the first slice from each third was used for the immediate push-out test (i) followed by analysis of the failure pattern (n = 10); the second slice from each third was used for the push-out test after 6-month aging (A) followed by analysis of the failure pattern (n = 10); the third slice from each third was used to examine the adhesive interface under confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) (n = 10). Data were analyzed with ANOVA, Fisher’s exact and Kruskal-Wallis tests.
Results: Higher BSs were found for EDC-A (5.6 ± 1.9) than for EDC-I (3.3 ± 0.7), C-i (2.5 ± 1.0) and C-i (2.6 ± 1.0) (p = 0.0001), while C-A values were in some cases similar to C-i and in others similar to EDC-i. No statistically significant difference was observed between the thirds (p > 0.05), except for EDC-i, which showed lower BS for the cervical (2.79 ± 0.46) compared to the apical third (3.8 ± 0.5), while the middle third in some cases had values similar to those of the apical and in others to the cervical third (3.2 ± 0.7) (p = 0.032). More mixed adhesive failures were found in the cervical third, and more adhesive failures to the sealer occurred in the middle and apical thirds (p = 0.014). A significant difference was observed between treatments in terms of adaptation of the adhesive interface, with a higher percentage of good adaptation using EDC (66.7%) than using C (40%), and a lower percentage of poor adaptation with EDC (10%) compared to C (20%) (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Root canal irrigation with EDC increased the longevity of the adhesive interface of an epoxy resin-based root-canal sealer.