Effect of sonic application mode on the resin-dentin bond strength and dentin permeability of self-etching systems

To compare manual and sonic adhesive application modes in terms of the permeability and microtensile bond strength of a self-etching adhesive applied in the one-step or two-step protocol.

Self-etching All Bond SE (Bisco) was applied as a one- or a two-step adhesive under manual or sonic vibration modes on flat occlusal dentin surfaces of 64 human molars. Half of the teeth were used to measure the hydraulic conductance of dentin at 200 cm H₂O hydrostatic pressure for 5 min immediately after the adhesive application. In the other half, composite buildups (Opallis) were constructed incrementally to create resin-dentin sticks with a cross-sectional area of 0.8 mm² to be tested in tension (0.5 mm/min) immediately after restoration placement. Data were analyzed using a two-way ANOVA and Tukey's test (α = 0.05).

The fluid conductance of dentin was significantly reduced by the sonic vibration mode for both adhesives, but no effect on the bond strength values was observed for either adhesive.

The sonic application mode at an oscillating frequency of 170 Hz can reduce the fluid conductance of the one- and two-step All Bond SE adhesive when applied on dentin.