Effect of Dentin Moisture and Application Mode of Universal Adhesives on the Adhesion of Glass Fiber Posts to Root Canal.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of dentin moisture and application mode of universal adhesives on bond strength (BS) and nanoleakage (NL) of fiber posts bonded to root dentin. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The roots of 96 extracted human canines were treated endodontically, and the fiber posts were cemented according to the combination of the following factors: dentin moisture (dry and wet), cementation system [Single Bond Universal/RelyX ARC (SBU) and Prime&Bond elect/Enforce (PBE)], and adhesive application [active (A) and passive (P)] in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. After one week, the specimens were transversely sectioned into six 1-mm-thick disks. From each group, 8 specimens were subjected to the push-out BS test and the other 4 specimens underwent NL analysis. For both tests, the data were subjected to 3-way repeated measures ANOVA and Tukey's tests (alpha = 0.05). RESULTS: For BS and NL, the cross-product interaction of all factors was significant (p < 0.05). Lower BS was observed under P application independent of the dentin moisture; for A application, SBU showed higher BS than did PBE in both moisture conditions. Nanoleakage was present in all groups and ranged from 22.9% to 36%. CONCLUSION: The active application of universal adhesives improves the adhesion in fiber post cementation, independent of dentin moisture condition.