Tridimensional roughness and morphology of sound dentin surfaces after papain-gel treatment

Purpose: To investigate the effect of chemomechanical caries removing agents (CCRAs) based on papain (Papacárie Duo Gel® and Brix3000®) over dentin surfaces compared with 37% phosphoric acid and 11.5% polyacrylic acid.Materials and methods: Sound human molars were sectioned at the crown level, resulting in 48 dentin blocks, which were randomly divided into 4 groups (n=12): 1) Papacárie Duo Gel®; 2) Brix3000®; 3) 11.5% polyacrylic acid solution and 4) 37% phosphoric acid gel. All products were applied for 30s. Ten blocks per group were analyzed by a non-contact 3D profilometer before and after treatments for linear (Ra) and volumetric roughness (Sa). The superficial morphology of the remaining blocks in each group (n=2) was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Normality was rejected for the data (Shapiro-Wilk test) and therefore, Kruskal-Wallis test, followed by Dunn’s proof or Wilcoxon signed rank test with its respective effect size calculation were used to compare the results with α=5%.Results: Ra and Sa values for specimens submitted to Papacárie Duo Gel® and Brix3000® were statistically similar to baseline values. Application of phosphoric and polyacrylic acid resulted in a statistically increase in roughness compared to the CCRAs. SEM evaluation showed that Papacárie Duo Gel® resulted in surface debris. Polyacrylic acid and Brix3000®resulted in partial opening of the tubules but dentin exposed to polyacrylic was able to remove more smear layer than Brix3000®, while phosphoric acid resulted in total opening of the dentinal tubules.Conclusion: Both Papacárie Duo Gel® and Brix3000® did not result in roughness changes when applied in sound dentin.