effect of gallic acid as a final irrigant on push-out bond strength of an epoxy resin sealer to root canal dentin

Introduction: ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (edta), a widely used chelating agent, compromises the bond strength of resin-based sealers when used as a final irrigating solution. hence, the push-out bond strength of ah plus, a resin-based sealer, was analyzed when gallic acid, a chelator was used as a last irrigating solution. methods: forty human single-rooted teeth were accessed and randomly assigned into 4 groups (n = 10): ea (17% edta), ma (7% maleic acid), ga (10% gallic acid), and sa (saline). after irrigation, the root canals were coated with ah plus sealer and obturated using gutta-percha. the root canals were sectioned horizontally into coronal, middle, and apical thirds for evaluating the push-out bond strength. a universal testing machine with a compressive loading of 1 mm/min was employed to test the samples. results: an increased push-out bond strength was noted with ga in coronal one-third compared to ea and sa but not significant compared to ma (p>0.05). similar observations were seen in the middle one-third; however, it was statistically significant compared to all other groups (p< 0.05). also, the difference between the groups in the apical one-third was not significant. sa showed the lowest push-out bond strength than experimental groups, which was significant in all three sections (p< 0.05). conclusion: the final rinse of 10% gallic acid increased the push-out bond strength of ah plus to the root dentin in all thirds of the root canal. hence, gallic acid 10% might be an effective alternative solution in place of synthetic chelators.