The effect on dentine permeability of time following cavity preparation in dogs

Cavities were prepared into the dentine of mandibular first molars of anaesthetized dogs. Conical plastic chambers were cemented into the cavities to permit quantitation of dentine permeability using a fluid-filtration technique. There was a progressive fall in dentine permeability every hour for the 6 h of study, to about 20 per cent of zero time values. The fall in dentine permeability could be delayed but not prevented, by filtering fluid across the dentine into the pulp. Similar experiments on teeth from which the pulps had been removed showed no change or a slight increase in permeability with time. No change in dentine permeability was seen in dogs killed after the zero time measurement and followed for an extra 6 h. This decrease of dentine permeability in response to cavity preparations only occurs in teeth with intact pulps.