Influence of Etching Methods on the Shear Bond Strength of a Influence of Etching Methods on the Shear Bond Strength of a Universal Adhesive System to Sound and Artificial Caries-Affected Universal Adhesive System to Sound and Artificial Caries-Affected Dentin

Purpose:This study tested the bond strength of a universal adhesive system to both caries-affected (CAD) and sound dentin after using different etching techniques. Methods: Forty premolars were wet grinded to expose flat occlusal midcoronal dentin. Specimens were equally divided according to the substrate into sound and (CAD) specimens which were exposed to pH- cycling for 14 days. Single Bond™ universal adhesive was used to bond each dentin substrate either after no etching or etching of dentin, after which, resin composite was used for build-up. These specimens were then tested for shear bond strength (SBS). The results were then analyzed by two-ways ANOVA. Results: Single Bond™ universal bonded to sound dentin had statistically significantly higher SBS mean values compared to CAD. Single Bond™ applied after separate etching step of dentin showed a statistically higher SBS compared to self-etching method when bonded to sound dentin. Conclusion: Separate etching improved bonding to sound dentin and did not influence the bond strength of tested universal adhesive to CAD.