Effect of Final Irrigation Protocol and Etching Mode on Bond Strength of a Multimode Adhesive in the Root Canal

Purpose: To analyze the effects of ethanol for final post space irrigation and etching mode on the bond strength of fiber posts luted with a mild multimode adhesive (pH 2.3) as compared with a reference group using a self-adhesive resin cement (SAR). Materials and Methods: Human anterior teeth were endodontically treated. After post space preparation, the root canals were irrigated using 1% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) applied with passive ultrasonic irrigation, followed by either distilled water (control) or distilled water and ethanol 99% as final post space irrigation. Fiber posts were luted using Futurabond U in self-etch mode (FU-SE), Futurabond U in etch-and-rinse mode (FU-ER), or Futurabond DC (SE) in combination with a dual-curing core buildup material (Grandio Core, all VOCO); alternatively, posts were inserted using a self-adhesive composite cement (RelyX Unicem 2, 3M ESPE). Bond strengths were evaluated using push-out tests following thermocycling (TC) and storage in 0.9% NaCl for 3 months. Results: Mean push-out bond strengths (MPa) were significantly affected by the luting system (p 0.0005) but not by the irrigation protocol (p = 0.068; ANOVA), although a significant interaction between the factors "luting agent" and "pre-treatment" was observed. FU E&R (21.28 [4.34]) and RX (20.12 [7.32]) revealed significantly higher bond strengths compared to FU SE (15.9 [6.02]), whereas F DC (18.8 [6.9]) did not differ significantly from all other groups. Ethanol pre-treatment increased bond strength in the apical part of the root canal for all materials, with the exception of FU E&R. Conclusion: Mild multimode adhesives exhibit comparable mean bond strengths to a SAR cement within the root canal for luting fiber posts if applied in an etch-and-rinse mode. Using this approach, ethanol application has no positive effects on bond strength. Keywords: multimode adhesive, root canal dentin, root canal post, aging, adhesive luting