Effect of the hydrophilic nanofiller loading on the mechanical properties and the microtensile bond strength of an ethanol-based one-bottle dentin adhesive

This study evaluated the hypothesis that if hydrophilic nanofillers were dispersed evenly within the adhesive layer under moist conditions, adding them to a one-bottle dentin adhesive might improve the mechanical properties of the adhesive layer, and accordingly increase the bond strength. The flexural strength (FS), the degree of conversion (DC), and the microtensile bond strength (MTBS) to the dentin of four experimental ethanol-based one-bottle dentin adhesives containing 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 3.0 wt % of 12-nm hydrophilic fumed silica were evaluated, and the distribution of the nanofillers were compared using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Although the nanofiller content did not affect the DC, the FS tended to increase with increasing nanofiller content. The MTBS appeared to increase when up to 1.0 wt % of the nanofillers were added, but they were statistically not significant. However, when 3.0 wt % of the nanofillers were added, the MTBS decreased significantly comparing to the adhesive containing 0.5 wt % nanofillers (p < 0.05). The TEM image suggested that if the nanofillers within the adhesive were 3.0 wt % and applied to a wet dentin surface, they aggregated easily into large clusters and would decrease the MTBS. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.