The bond of resin to different dentin surface characteristics.

This study investigated the effects of dentin surface characteristics on bond strengths between resin and dentin. The shear bond strengths mediated by two dentin adhesive systems (Clearfil SE Bond and OptiBond Solo Plus) were evaluated. For each material, flat dentin surfaces prepared from human upper premolars were allocated to eight groups according to three characterizations; dentin location (occlusal or cervical), dentin depth (superficial or deep) and dentinal tubule orientation (perpendicular or parallel). A 0.75-mm diameter area of dentin was bonded according to each manufacturer's instructions before placing 0.5-mm high resin composite. The bonds were stressed in shear at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/minute. The mean bond strengths were compared using ANOVA and independent t-test. No statistically significant differences were found in shear bond strengths based on dentin location. Clearfil SE Bond presented higher bond strengths to deep dentin specimens bonded perpendicular to the tubules compared to those that were bonded parallel to the tubules. Whereas, the opposite results were found for deep dentin specimens bonded with OptiBond Solo Plus. In the case of superficial dentin, there were no differences between the two materials when bond strengths were compared among the different orientations of tubule. The results indicated that shear bond strengths may be affected by dentin depth, orientation of the tubule and the bonding material used, but not by location of the dentin.