Bonding glass-ionomer cements to chemomechanically-prepared dentin

The aim of this investigation was to compare the shear bond strengths of two commercially available glass-ionomer cement base materials to remaining dentin: (1) after conventional caries removal and polyacrylic acid conditioning; (2) after chemomechanical caries removal (Caridex); and (3) after chemomechanical caries removal and polyacrylic acid conditioning. Ninety freshly extracted carious teeth were randomly assigned for caries removal with either the chemomechanical technique (N = 60), or with conventional mechanical drilling (N = 30). Caries removal was continued until the remaining dentin surfaces were judged sound. The remaining dentin in 30 of the teeth prepared with the chemomechanical technique, and in all of the teeth prepared with mechanical drilling, was treated with 10% aqueous polyacrylic acid for 10 seconds. Groups of 15 teeth were assigned for bonding with either Ketac-Bond or Shofu Glasionomer Base Cement. All bonded specimens were stored in a humidor at 37 degrees C for 24 hr. Shear bond strength was tested by means of a mechanical testing machine at a cross-head speed of 0.05 cm/min. Analysis of variance indicated no significant difference (p greater than 0.05) in the mean bond strength among the groups.