Effect of thermocycling times on dentin bond strength

Thermocycling is widely used in the evaluation of dentin bonding agents. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of increasing thermocycling times on the shear bond strength of composite resin to dentin using a NTG-GMA/BPDM-type bonding agent. Fifty human molar teeth were ground flat on the buccal surface into dentin (600 grit). Ten specimens were prepared for each thermocycling group of 100, 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 cycles. The adhesive agent was applied to the dentin according to the manufacturer's instructions. A cyclindrical-shaped matrix was used to form the composite resin that was light cured to the treated dentin surface for 60 seconds. Thermocycling was started after 24 hours of storage in deionized water at 37 degrees C. Shear bond strengths were determined with an Instron universal testing machine at a cross-head speed of 0.5 mm per minute. The bond strengths in megapascals (MPa) were : 100 cycles 18.1 (+/- 5.2) MPa, 500 cycles 19.4 (+/- 4.0)MPa, 1000 cycles 16.5 (+/- 2.9), 2000 cycles 14.6 (+/- 5.1), and 4000 cycles 19.9 (+/- 3.2)MPa. When this data was subjected to an ANOVA, no significant difference was found between the groups.