Effect of final irrigation protocols on microhardness and erosion of root canal dentin

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of final irrigation protocols (17% EDTA, BioPure MTAD, SmearClear, and QMiX) on microhardness and erosion of root canal dentin. Fifty roots were sectioned transversely at the cement–enamel junction and each root was sectioned horizontally into 4‐mm‐thick slices. The samples were divided into five groups (n = 10) according to the final irrigation protocol: G1: distilled water (control group); G2: 17% EDTA; G3: BioPure MTAD; G4: SmearClear; and G5: QMiX. The dentin microhardness was then measured with a load of 25 g for 10 s. Initially, the reference microhardness values were obtained for the samples without any etching. The same samples were then submitted to the final irrigation protocols. A new measure was realized and the difference between before and after the procedures was the dentin microhardness reduction. In sequence, the specimens were submitted to SEM analysis to verify the dentinal erosion. The Kruskal Wallis and Dunn tests (α = 5%) were used to compare the results. The dentin microhardness decreased for all final irrigation protocols. There was no significant difference between groups 2, 3, 4, and 5 (P > 0.05), but this groups presented significant dentin microhardness reduction than G1 (P < 0.05). In G2, occurred the highest incidence of dentinal erosion (P < 0.05). 17% EDTA, BioPure MTAD, SmearClear, and QMiX promoted significant dentin microhardness reduction. Dentinal tubules erosion was promoted by 17% EDTA. Microsc. Res. Tech., 76:1079–1083, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.