Effect of hydrostatic pulpal water pressure on microtensile bond strength of self-etch adhesives to dentin

To evaluate the effect of pulpal pressure on the microtensile bond strength of four self-etch adhesives to dentin. A total-etch adhesive was added for comparison.

60 freshly extracted human third molars were selected. For each tooth, the root was removed below the cemento-enamel junction. A second parallel section was made to remove the coronal enamel to form a crown segment. The root portion of the resulting crown segment was cemented to a Plexiglas platform using cyanoacrylate cement. The crown segment was then connected with a plastic tube to a water column to produce a pressure of 20 cm H2O at the prepared dentin surface of the crown segment. The adhesive materials were: a total-etch adhesive (Scotchbond 1) and four self-etch adhesives (Clearfil SE Bond, Hybrid Bond, Futurabond NR, and AdheSE Bond). The tested adhesives were applied to the dentin surface in three test procedures: applied to dentin without pulpal pressure, applied to dentin with pulpal pressure for 24 hours, and applied to dentin with pulpal pressure and the pressure was maintained for 6 months during storage. Grandio resin composite was placed in 3-4 layers to a height of 5-6 mm to form a crown segment. For bond strength measurement, the composite-dentin segment was removed from the Plexiglas. This segment was then sectioned to prepare the specimens for microtensile bond measurement.

None of the tested adhesives showed bond strength reduction when applied to dentin supplied with water pressure. After 6 months of pulpal pressure, Scotchbond 1, Clearfil SE Bond and AdheSE Bond showed significant reduction in bond strength (P < 0.05). In contrast, Futurabond NR and Hybrid Bond were not significantly affected.