Dentinal plugs

# Which of the following creates the phenomena of dentinal plugs?
A. Adhesive
B. Debris from the smear layer
C. Oxalic acid
D. Sclerotic dentin
E. Primer (form micro/macrotags)

Dentinal or smear plugs are composed of the debris from the smear layer.

The smear layer is documented to be about
0.5-2mm thick layer of debris with a  mainly granular substructure that entirely coverst he dentin. The surface of the smear layer appears quite irregular.

The orifices of dentinal tubules are
obstructed by debris tags known as smear
plugs or dentinal plugs. These dentinal
plugs extend into the tubules to a depth of
1-10 micrometers.

The smear layer is reported to reduce
dentinal permeability by about 86% due to
dentinal plugging.

Dentinal plugs are removed by acid etching
the tooth surface with phosphoric acid.