The Influence of Humidity on Intra-tubular Penetration and Bond Strength of AH Plus and MTA Fillapex: An In Vitro Study

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of humidity on the intra-tubular penetration, bond strength and failure mode associated with AH Plus (AH) and MTA Fillapex (MTAF) sealers. METHODS: For this analysis, an apparatus was created to maintain the humidity of the specimens. Sixty bovine single-rooted teeth with similar anatomy were used. The teeth were randomly divided into 4 groups (n=15): G1 - AH/moist, G2 - AH/dry, G3 - MTAF/moist and G4 - MTAF/dry. A laser scanning confocal microscope was used to analyse the penetrability of the sealers into the dentinal tubules. A push-out test was performed to examine the diameter and height of the root canal fillings. The failure mode was analysed under a stereomicroscope at 40× magnification. The data were submitted to non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn’s tests. The significance level was P<0.05. RESULTS: The MTAF sealer exhibited higher intra-tubular penetration values compared to AH Plus (P<0.05) sealer. AH Plus showed the highest bond strength values. Regarding the type of failure mode, a majority of cohesive failures was identified, irrespective of the moisture conditions, which were not statistically significant among the sealers (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Humidity conditions did not influence the intra-tubular penetration, bond strength and failure mode of AH Plus and MTAF sealers.