At present, self-etch adhesive systems are employed on large scale in the offices of dental medicine
due to their simple application technique. Their radioopacity is important for the identification of this material in paraclinical examinations.
Scope. The study describes a technique of radioopacity analysis on a self-etching type adhesive material.
Materials and method. Class V cavities have been made on the teeth extracted from orthodontic causes. The dental adhesive was applied on the surface of the cavities, followed by their obturation with a composite material. The teeth were sliced, radiographed, the resulting digital images being analyzed with a specialized software.
Results and discussion. The radio-opacity of this adhesive system, lower than that of the enamel, varies, comparatively with that of dentin.
Conclusions. Having no filling, the here discussed adhesive system has a relative optical density slightly lower than that of dentin, which makes difficult its radiological identification. Consequently, some problems of differential diagnosis may appear, with the marginal secondary caries or with caries recurrence.
- radio-opacity
- self-etch adhesive.