Lack of correlation between tubular dentine cement penetration, adhesiveness and leakage in roots filled with gutta percha and an endodontic cement based on epoxy amine resin

OBJECTIVE: To analyze possible correlations among tubular dentine cement penetration, adhesiveness and apical leakage in fillings performed with gutta percha and an endodontic cement based on epoxy amine resin. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty similar, extracted human mandibular central incisors were irrigated, instrumented and filled following the same protocol. First, apical leakage was quantified by fluid filtration tests. Then, these same specimens were sectioned for analysis of tubular dentine cement penetration and the middle thirds were submitted to push-out tests to analyze the adhesiveness of the fillings. RESULTS: In brief, the means and standard deviations with a confidence interval of 95% were as follows: tubular dentine cement penetration (8.875±4.540), adhesiveness (4.441±2.683) and apical leakage (0.318±0.215). The data were confronted using the Pearson's test (P>0.05), and it was possible to prove that there was no correlation between (1) tubular dentine cement penetration and apical leakage (r(2): 0.08276), (2) tubular dentine cement penetration and adhesiveness (r(2): -0.2412) and (3) adhesiveness and apical leakage (r(2): 0.1340). CONCLUSION: After analysis of these data, it could be observed that there exists no correlation among the variables analyzed in this study.