Does bonding to dentin reduce microleakage of composite restorations?

This study evaluated the effect of adhesive application only to enamel on the marginal microleakage of composite resin restorations performed with different adhesive systems. Standardized cylinder-shaped cavities were prepared on the buccal surface of eighty bovine incisors. Two etch-and-rinse (Adper Scotchbond Multi-purpose [3M ESPE, St. Paul, MN USA] and Adper Single Bond 2 [3M ESPE]) and two self-etching (Clearfil SE Bond [Kuraray, Osaka, Japan] and Adper Prompt [3M ESPE]) adhesive systems were evaluated. The adhesives were applied only to enamel or to both dentin and enamel. After adhesive light-activation, the cavities were restored with composite resin. The samples were coated with two layers of nail polish, except an area of 1-mm wide around of the restoration, and immersed in a methylene blue solution. Afterwards, the specimens were ground in order to obtain powder which was immersed in absolute alcohol. The solutions were centrifuged and the supernatant was analyzed using an absorbance spectrophotometer. Linear regression was used to estimate the dye concentration. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and Tukey's tests (alpha = 0.05). The etch-and-rinse adhesives showed lower microleakage means compared to those of the self-etching adhesives. Adper Prompt presented higher microleakage means. There was no difference between the modes of application of the adhesive on the cavity for all adhesive systems, except for Clearfil SE Bond. This showed lower microleakage when applied to the whole cavity. Bonding to dentin may not reduce microleakage of composite restorations.