Dentin bond strength and marginal adaption after NaOCl pre-treatment

The aim of this in vitro study was to compare the dentin bond strength and marginal adaptation of direct composite resins with and without additional NaOCl treatment after the etching process. A total of 150 cavities were prepared into disks of freshly extracted human third molars and filled with direct composite resins. Dentin adhesives of the fourth (with total etching: Scotchbond Multi-Purpose Plus, EBS, and Solid Bond), and fifth generation (one-bottle adhesives: Prime&Bond 2.1, Syntac Sprint) were used in combination with corresponding composite resin materials. Dentin disks without cavity preparation treatment served as controls. After 24 hours of storage and 24 hours of thermocycling (1150 cycles), replicas were made and push-out testing was performed. Replicas were examined regarding marginal adaptation using SEM (X200 magnification). In general, fourth-generation dentin adhesives produced better results in bond strength and marginal adaptation than fifth-generation one-bottle systems (P < 0.05). Within the fourth generation, Scotchbond Multi-Purpose Plus and EBS achieved significantly higher push-out values and percentages of gap-free margins than Solid Bond (P < 0.05). After hypochlorite treatment, dentin bond strength (-25%) and marginal adaptation (-30%) decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in all groups.