Influence of chlorhexidine digluconate on the clinical performance of adhesive restorations: a 3-year follow-up

The aim of this clinical study was to evaluate the long-term clinical performance of non-carious Class V restorations with and without application of chlorhexidine digluconate to acid-etched dentine.

After the approval of the Ethics and Informed Consent Committee, 70 non-carious cervical lesions were selected and randomly assigned into two groups, according to the split mouth design. The control group was restored with a two-step etch-and-rinse adhesive (Adper Single Bond 2) following manufacturer's instructions; whereas in the experimental group 2% chlorhexidine digluconate solution was applied to acid etched dentine for 30s after etching and prior to the adhesive application. All lesions were restored with a nanofilled composite resin (Filtek Supreme XT) and polymerized with a light-curing unit operating at 600mW/cm(2). Clinical performance was recorded after 1 week, 6, 12, and 36 months using modified Ryge/USPHS criteria in terms of retention, marginal discoloration, marginal integrity, post-operative sensitivity, and secondary caries incidence. Data were analyzed using Chi-Square, Fisher's exact test and McNemar tests (α=.05).

After 36 months the control group showed a success rate of 88% in comparison to 76% of experimental group; however, no statistically difference between them was found (p=.463). Moreover, no statistical differences were observed between groups in the criteria post-operative sensitivity, marginal discoloration, marginal integrity, and secondary caries incidence between the two groups.

The addition of 2% chlorhexidine digluconate conditioning step does not improve the clinical durability of adhesive restorations.