Interfacial morphology and bond strength of self-etching adhesives to primary dentin with or without acid etching

The aim of the study was to determine the interfacial morphology and bond strength of three current self-etching adhesives (SEAs) to primary dentin and to evaluate the effect of introducing an additional step of phosphoric acid etching. Three human primary molars were assigned to each adhesive group for testing microtensile bond strength (microTBS) and three for studying interface morphology. Groups were: group 1, Excite, a total-etch adhesive (control); group 2, Adhese (ASE); group 3, Adper-Prompt-L-Pop (APLP), and group 4: Xeno III (XE) SEAs; groups 5-7 received application of 37% phosphoric acid for 15 s before applying ASE, APLP, and XE, respectively. A class I cavity was performed in each molar to study the interface morphology. Two halves of each tooth were used for examination either by optical microscopy, using Masson's trichromic dye technique, or by scanning electron microscopy. For microTBS determination, composite/dentin bars (1 mm(2) section) were obtained from each tooth, and tested in tension until debonding. The microTBS was significantly lower in the APLP than in the rest of the groups. The performance of SEAs on primary dentin depends on the product. Inclusion of dentin pre-etching step did not significantly modify microTBS results. All SAEs achieved greater decalcification depth on etched versus nonetched dentin.