Optimal etching time of glass ionomer cement for maximum bond of composite resin

This study compares the bond strengths of a composite resin to a glass ionomer cement with two types of surfaces and four etching times and attempted to correlate the bond strengths with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The bond strengths were significantly greater to the instrumented surface at all etching times and the composite resin would not bond to glass smooth, unetched glass ionomer.