Universal adhesives applied to deep dentin with different bonding treatments

Eighth-generation adhesives may be applied with total etch, selective-etch or self-conditioning, and serve as primers for non-dental substrates. Aim: To determine the bonding characteristics of universal adhesives applied to the deep pulp wall with different strategies, by means of shear bond strength and laser microscopy. Materials and Method: Cavities 4 mm deep and maximum width were carved in 36 extracted molars. Nine groups were formed according to dental substrate treatment and adhesives, as follows: Total-etch: group 1-Monobond 7 self-etch, group 2-One coat 7 universal, and group 3-Single bond universal; Adamantine etch: group 4-Monobond 7 self-etch, group 5-One coat 7 universal, and group 6-Single bond universal; Self-conditioning: group 7-Monobond 7 self-etch, group 8-One coat 7 universal, and group 9-Single bond universal. Molars were filled following the manufacturer’s instructions. Three specimens per group (27 altogether) were used to determine shear bond strength using a universal testing machine, while layer thicknesses were measured on the remaining specimens using microscope images and Olympus LEXT 3D Software. Analysis of variance was used to compare data. Results: Mean (standard deviation) bond strength in megapascals (MPa) was: group 1: 7.06±3.01; group 2: 10.74±4.36; group 3: 8.20±3.92; group 4: 7.41±2.23; group 5: 6.84±1.50; group 6: 5.86±2.10; group 7: 5.83±1.94; group 8: 7.14±2.37; group 9: 8.06±3.51. Bond strength was higher (p=0.049) for total-etch (8.61±3.96) than for selective etch (6.71±1.98) and self-conditioning (6.91±2.68). No significant difference was found among the three adhesives (p=0.205). Adhesive layer in micrometers (μm) was total-etch 8.71±4.93, selective etch 5.49±1.70 and self-conditioning 6.27±3.01, with no significant difference. Conclusions: There were significant differences among bonding strategies, with the highest values for total-etch. No significant difference was observed between self-conditioning and selective etch. No significant difference was found among the adhesives, which all behaved similarly. The greatest adhesive layer thicknesses were recorded in the total-etch group, with no significant difference among the various adhesive approaches.