Influence of different pre-etching times on fatigue strength of self-etch adhesives to dentin

The purpose of this study was to use shear bond strength (SBS) and shear fatigue strength (SFS) testing to determine the influence on dentin bonding of phosphoric acid pre-etching times before the application of self-etch adhesives. Two single-step self-etch universal adhesives [Prime & Bond Elect (EL) and Scotchbond Universal (SU)], a conventional single-step self-etch adhesive [G-aenial Bond (GB)], and a two-step self-etch adhesive [OptiBond XTR (OX)] were used. The SBS and SFS values were obtained with phosphoric acid pre-etching times of 3, 10, or 15 s before application of the adhesives, and for a control without pre-etching. For groups with 3 s of pre-etching, SU and EL showed higher SBS values than control groups. No significant difference was observed for GB among the 3 s, 10 s, and control groups, but the 15 s pre-etching group showed significantly lower SBS and SFS values than the control group. No significant difference was found for OX among the pre-etching groups. Reducing phosphoric acid pre-etching time can minimize the adverse effect on dentin bonding durability for the conventional self-etch adhesives. Furthermore, a short phosphoric acid pre-etching time enhances the dentin bonding performance of universal adhesives.