Dentin bond shear strength and microleakage for Syntac/Heliomolar: a comparison between the manufacturer's and total...

Recent improvements in formulation have led to significant improvements in the bond strength and clinical performance of dentin bonding agents. The growing interest in the concept of total etch prompted a comparison between manufacturer-recommended procedure and that of total etch for the product Syntac. An in vitro study to examine shear bond strength to dentin and microleakage and an in vivo component to investigate the micromorphologic relationship between restoration and tissue was conducted. No statistical significance was observed in bond strength values for the nonetched versus the etched group. Significantly, however, a larger number of specimens in the nonetched group exhibited microleakage. In vivo, only the etched group exhibited a zone of hybridization although both nonetched and etched restorations showed no interfacial gaps. It was concluded that total etch does not compromise the shear bond strength of Syntac but it appears to significantly reduce microleakage possibly due to the formation of a hybrid zone and may have merit clinically.