Influence of the direction of tubules on bond strength to dentin

This study investigated the influence of the direction of dentinal tubules on resin-dentin tensile bond strength (mu TBS) using four commercially available bonding systems and observed the resin-dentin interfaces with an SEM. The dentin bonding systems used in this study were Clearfil Liner Bond II (LB, Kuraray), Imperva Fluoro Bond (FB, Shofu), Single Bond (SB, 3M) and One-Step (OS, BISCO). Thirty-six extracted caries-free human molars were used for micro tensile bond testing and eight additional teeth were used for scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The teeth were divided into two groups according to the direction of the dentinal tubules at the resin-dentin interface: a perpendicular group, in which the occlusal enamel was removed perpendicular to the long axis of the tooth, and a parallel group, in which the mesial half of the tooth was removed parallel to the long axis of the tooth, and the coronal dentin surface was used for bonding. After the flat dentin surfaces were polished with #600 silicon carbide paper, each surface was treated with one of the four adhesive systems according to the manufacturer's recommendation, then covered with resin composite (Clearfil AP-X, Kuraray) to provide sufficient bulk for micro-tensile bond testing. After 24 hours in 37 degrees C water, the resin-bonded teeth were serially sliced perpendicular to the adhesive surface, the adhesive interface trimmed to a cross sectional area of 1 mm2 and subjected to tensile forces at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min. Statistical analysis of the tensile bond strengths were performed using two-way ANOVA and Fisher's PLSD test at 95% level of confidence. The tensile bond strength of the group with tubules parallel to the bonded interface was higher than that of tubules cut perpendicularly. This tendency reached statistical significance using SB and OS.