Bonding to enamel and dentin using self-etching adhesive systems

Objectives: This study investigated the effectiveness of three different dentin adhesive systems on the adhesion of resin composite to both dentin and enamel. Method and materials: The flat dentin and enamel surfaces of 60 extracted human molar teeth were exposed by wet grinding with 600-grit silicon carbide paper. One total-etch self-priming adhesive system (Prime & Bond NT), one two-step self-etching primer adhesive system (Clearfil SE Bond), and one "all-in-one" self-etching adhesive system (Prompt L-Pop) were evaluated. Each bonding system was applied according to the manufacturer's instructions and followed by composite (TPH Spectrum) application. Twenty-four hours after bonding, the teeth were subjected to shear testing. There were 10 replicates for each group. Results: Prompt L-Pop exhibited significantly higher bond strength values to enamel (27 +/- 4.2 M Pa) than all other groups. There were no statistically significant differences for shear bond strength to dentin among adhesives. Prompt L-Pop showed the statistically significantly higher bond strength to enamel than dentin. There were no statistically significant differences between the enamel and dentin bond strengths of Clearfil SE Bond and Prime & Bond NT Conclusions: The self-etching adhesive systems produced high bond strengths to human coronal dentin and ground enamel surfaces. These materials seem to be very promising for further clinical applications, and the results are very encouraging for the clinical success of these simplified adhesive systems. The self-etching adhesive systems produced even better bond strengths to both enamel and dentin than conventional total-etch systems, especially the "all-in-one" system, which produced the highest bond strength to enamel.