Microtensile dentin bond strength of self-etching resins: effect of a hydrophobic layer

In this study, the microtensile bond strength of resin composites to dentin was determined when hydrophilic self-etching resins were used with and without an additional layer of a more hydrophobic adhesive. Included were three single-step self-etching adhesives, Adper Prompt L-Pop (3M ESPE), iBond GI (Heraeus Kulzer, Inc) and Xeno III (Caulk/Dentsply), and as a negative control, UniFil Bond (GC America), a self-etching primer with a separate adhesive. Each product was evaluated using a hybrid resin composite from its respective manufacturer, and each was used as directed and then used with an added layer of a more hydrophobic resin from its respective manufacturer. Testing was performed after 72 hours using a "non-trimming" microtensile test at a crosshead speed of 0.6 mm/minute. When the products were used according to manufacturers' directions, iBond had a significantly higher bond strength to dentin than the other three products (p<0.001), which were not significantly different from each other. For the three self-etching adhesive systems, the addition of a layer of a more hydrophobic resin produced significantly higher bond strengths to dentin (p<0.001), while no significant effect was found for the self-etching primer (p=0.40). A significant interaction was found between the variables product and adhesive treatment. The TEM evaluation of Prompt L-Pop and iBond demonstrated reduced nanoleakage with the additional resin layer.