Objectives: (1) Test the sealing capacity and tensile strength of various adhesive systems: Scotch Bond 1 (Single Bond in USA)(SB1) 1 Z100, Syntac Sprint (SYN) 1 Tetric Ceram, Prime and Bond 2.1 (PB21) 1 TPH Spectrum, F2000 (Adhesive 1 Compomer) (F2000) and Optibond Solo (OPT) 1 Prodigy, to perfused teeth (30 cm distilled H 2 O), in select areas. (2) Determine the relationship between sealing ability and size of adhesive area (BA) with tensile strength (TS).Methods: Segments of human third molars n 67 sealed with amalgam on their coronal side were connected to a perfusion system (30 cm distilled H 2 O), to measure the basal permeability. Access cavities were drilled through the amalgam to expose dentin (area range: 8.7±20.8 mm 2 ) and measure the permeability of that area. Cavities were sealed with one of the test materials and permeability measured prior to tensile testing. The percentage of decrease in permeability (PPD) that occurred with the different combinations of materials was also measured.Results. Tensile strength: there were no statistically signi®cant differences among groups. Permeability: ANOVA showed that there were statistically signi®cant differences in the mean % decrease in permeability (PPD) among groups p 0:018 : Student±Newman±Keuls test p , 0:05 detected that the mean PPD of F2000 ranked statistically higher than that of SB1. Relationship among variables: a linear correlation was found de®ned by the formula TS 7:47 1 0:008 £ PPD 2 0:23 £ BA; with a signi®cance of the model p 0:0097:Signi®cance: None of the materials studied reduced permeability up to 100%. They all produced low tensile bond strengths (maximum mean value of groups: 5.51 MPa (OPT)). q