Shear bond strengths of self-adhesive luting resins fixing dentine to different restorative materials

The purpose of this study was to assess the bond strengths of three self-adhesive resin cements (Rely X Unicem, Maxcem and Multilink Sprint) fixing dentine to four different restorative substrates (Ni-Cr alloy, E-Max glass-ceramic, Y-TZP Zirconia and Adoro micro-filled composite) and to compare their performances with those of two conventional dual-cured luting cements (Variolink II + Total-etch Excite DSC and Multilink Automix + Self-etching Primer A + B). Cylindric specimens (5 x 5 mm) were prepared with the four restorative materials for bonding to human dentine. Three surface treatments were performed depending on the restorative material: (i) Al2O3 50 microm sandblasting (Ni-Cr, Adoro), (ii) #800 SiC polishing (Zirconia, E-Max), (iii) hydrofluoric acid (HF)-etching (E-Max). Twenty-five groups (n = 10) were designed according to luting cements, restorative materials and surface pre-treatments. In some experimental groups, Variolink II and Multilink Automix were coupled with, respectively, a silane primer (Monobond S) and an alloy/zirconia primer (Multilink A/Z primer). Specimens were stored in distilled water at 37 degrees C for 24 h and then loaded in shear until failure. Variolink II and Multilink Automix showed the highest bond strengths, regardless of the restorative substrate, when used with dentine bonding systems and primers, while the weakest bonds were with Maxcem. The bond strength recorded with the two other self-adhesive cements depended on the nature of the restorative substrate. Increasing retention at the interfaces (i.e., HF ceramic etching) and using specific primers significantly improves the bond strength of luted restorative materials to dentine.