Shear bond strength, failure modes, and confocal microscopy of bonded amalgam restorations

This study evaluated the shear bond strength, failure modes, and confocal microscopy of two different amalgam alloy restorations lined with five adhesive systems. Two regular-set high-copper dental amalgam alloys, Amalcap Plus and Valiant Ph.D, and five commercially available adhesive systems were selected. One hundred and twenty freshly-extracted human third molars were used for the study. The results were statistically evaluated using two-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA). The shear bond strength (SBS) of amalgam to dentin was significantly affected by both the adhesive (p<0.0001) and amalgam alloy (p<0.0002). Regarding mode of failure (MF), among samples restored with Valiant Ph.D, 31 of 50 exhibited adhesive failure, and 19 displayed mixed failure. Laser optical microscopy (OM) of the bonded interface revealed the presence of a good hybrid layer was evident in all experimental groups. Higher bond strengths were measured for four of the five adhesives when used in combination with the spherical alloy.