Dentin bond strengths of simplified adhesives: effect of dentin depth

The objective of this study was to compare the shear bond strength of 3 simplified adhesive systems applied on shallow vs deep dentin. For superficial dentin, 30 human molars were sectioned with a diamond saw to expose dentin immediately below the dentoenamel junction. For deep dentin, 30 molars were sectioned 3 mm below the dentoenamel junction. The teeth were mounted, polished to 600-grit, and randomly assigned to 3 groups (n=10): Single Bonda and OptiBond Solo, total-etch adhesives, and Clearfil Liner Bond 2V, a self-etching primer adhesive. Adhesives were applied, the restorative material Filtek Z250 inserted in a No. 5 gelatin capsule, and light-cured. After 24 hours in water at 37 degrees C, shear bond strength was measured with an Instron at 5 mm/min. The data were analyzed with 2-way ANOVA and Duncan's post-hoc test. The results showed the following shear bond strengths (mean +/- SD in MPa): Single Bond/superficial dentin = 22.1 +/- 2.8; Single Bond/deep dentin = 14.2 +/- 7.0; OptiBond Solo/superficial dentin = 18.9 +/- 4.1; OptiBond Solo/deep dentin = 18.4 +/- 4.8; Clearfil Liner Bond 2V/superficial dentin = 21.0 +/- 7.4; Clearfil Liner Bond 2V/deep dentin = 17.6 +/- 5.9. There were no significant differences between mean shear bond strength for the factor "adhesive system" (P>.822). The Duncan's test showed that Single Bond resulted in higher shear bond strength on superficial dentin than on deep dentin. The mean shear bond strength for Clearfil Liner Bond 2V and OptiBond Solo were not influenced by dentin depth. When data were pooled for dentin depth, deep dentin resulted in statistically lower bond strengths than superficial dentin (P<.01). The influence of dentin depth on shear bond strength depends on the specific composition of the dentin adhesive.