The effect of three variables on shear bond strength when luting a resin inlay to dentin

The current study evaluated the effects of three variables on the shear bond strength of indirect composite restorations to human dentin. The three variables examined included immediate dentin sealing (IDS), the thinning of dentin adhesives by air-blowing before cementation and light-curing the dentin adhesive before cementation. One-hundred and eighty cylinder composite inlays, 2 mm in diameter and 3 mm in length, were made using a Tescera ATL system (BISCO Inc). Tooth disks 2-mm thick were obtained from 90 freshly-extracted human premolars. Two indirect composite cylinders were assigned to a single tooth disk. The discs were randomly divided into six groups according to the luting methods. AdheSE (Ivoclar Vivadent) was used as the dentin-bonding agent (DBA) for all groups. In Groups 1, 2 and 3, the dentin was sealed with AdheSE before taking the impression. After priming, the adhesive was lightly air-blown, then light-cured. On the other hand, the dentin was not sealed before taking the impression in Groups 4, 5 and 6. Regarding the application of DBA before cementation, it was gently air-blown and light-cured before cementation in Groups 1 and 4; whereas, it was heavily air-blown and light-cured in Groups 2 and 5 and gently air-blown but not light-cured in Groups 3 and 6. Z-250 and Duo-Link were used as luting materials. After 24-hours of storage, the bonded inlays were subjected to a shear bond test. For each luting material, one-way ANOVA and Duncan's Multiple Range Test were used to compare the shear bond strength. Paired t-tests were also performed to compare the shear strength between the two luting materials. All the statistical tests were carried out at the 95% confidence level. In Z-250, the results of the shear bond strength were as follows: Group 1(14.90MPa) > Group 2(12.22MPa), Group 4(12.16MPa) Group 5(9.61MPa), Group 3(9.60MPa) Group 6(3.54MPa)(p<0.05). In Duo-Link, the following shear bond strengths were obtained: Group 1(14.65MPa) > Group 2(13.04MPa), Group 4(12.66MPa) > Group 5(10.10MPa) > Group 3(8.40MPa) > Group 6(2.88MPa) (p<0.05). The mean shear bond strength of Z-250 and Duo-Link were not statistically different with the exception of Group 5. In conclusion, the shear bond strength of the indirect composite restoration to dentin can be improved by dentin sealing with DBA before taking an impression, gently air drying and light curing the DBA before the luting procedure.