Bond strength of glass ionomer cement to composite resin

This report assesses the effect of acid etching, acid etching plus bonding adhesive and bonding adhesive only, on the bond strength of one light curing and two chemical curing glass ionomer cements (GICs) to composite resin. Bonded specimens were fractured using a three point flexural jig. The only bond obtained with the chemically curing cements was after acid etching and bonding adhesive application. The light curing cements produced a bond with all treatments but a true cohesive fracture was only obtained after application of the dentine primer and bonding adhesive of the particular bonding system employed. It is recommended that a bonding adhesive be applied after acid etching chemically curing GICs in order to achieve a bond to composite resin. The light curing GIC should not be etched with phosphoric acid and is the material of choice as it is both stronger and less technique sensitive than the chemically curing GICs. Manufacturers' instructions may not always give the best results.