Effect of a plant-based hemostatic agent on microleakage of self-etching adhesives

Objective: This in vitro study evaluated the effect of Ankaferd Blood Stopper (ABS) contamination on the microleakage of one-step and two-step self-etching adhesives. Study design: Class V cavities were prepared at the cemento-enamel junction on both buccal and lingual surfaces of 60 freshly extracted human molars. Teeth were randomly assigned into three groups according to contamination material applied (Group I, no contamination; Group II, blood contamination; Group III, ABS contamination). In contaminated groups, one drop of blood and ABS solution was applied directly to the dentin surface and air-dried. Each group was further divided into two subgroups according to bonding agent used [Group A, Clearfil SE Bond (two-step self-etching adhesive); Group B, Adper Easy One (one-step self-etching adhesive)]. Adhesive materials were applied according to the manufacturers’ recommendations. The specimens were restored using a universal microhybrid composite (Arabesk). After thermocycling (5000x, 5°C – 55°C) and immersion in a 0.5% basic fuchsin, dye penetration was evaluated under a stereomicroscope. Statistical analysis was performed with Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests at p < 0.05. Results: Significantly higher microleakage scores were observed when one-step self-etching adhesive was applied to blood- and ABS-contaminated dentin. However, when a two-step self etching adhesive was used, microleakage was observed only following blood contamination, not following ABS contamination. Conclusions: Although, blood contamination before adhesive application resulted in increased microleakage with both one-step and two-step self-etching adhesive systems, ABS contamination did not affect microleakage when a two-step self-ething adhesive system was used. Key words:Ankaferd Blood Stopper, blood, microleakage, self-etching adhesive.