Bonding performance of universal adhesives to er,cr:YSGG laser-irradiated enamel

Universal adhesives have been recently introduced for use as self-etch or etch-and-rinse adhesives depending on the dental substrate and clinical condition. However, their bonding effectiveness to laser-irradiated enamel is still not well-known. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the shear bond strength (SBS) of universal adhesives (Single Bond Universal; Nova Compo-B Plus) applied to Er,Cr:YSGG laser-irradiated enamel with SBS of the same adhesives applied in self-etch and acid-etching modes, respectively. Crown segments of sixty bovine incisors were embedded into standardized acrylic blocks. Flattened enamel surfaces were prepared. Specimens were divided into six groups according to universal adhesives and application modes randomly (n = 10), as follows: Single Bond Universal/acid-etching mode; Nova Compo-B Plus/acid-etching mode; Single Bond Universal/self-etching mode; Nova Compo-B Plus/self-etching mode; and Single Bond Universal/Er,Cr:YSGG Laser-etching mode; Nova Compo-B Plus/Er,Cr:YSGG Laser-etching mode. After surface treatments, universal adhesives were applied onto surfaces. SBS was determined after storage in water for 24 h using a universal testing machine with a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm min^-1 . Failure modes were evaluated using a stereomicroscope. Data was analyzed using two-way of analyses of variances (ANOVA) (p = 0.05). Two-way ANOVA revealed that adhesive had no effect on SBS (p = 0.88), but application mode significantly influenced SBS (p = 0.00). Acid-etching significantly increased SBS, whereas there are no significant differences between self-etch mode and laser-etching for both adhesives. The bond strength of universal adhesives may depend on application mode. Acid etching may significantly increase bond strength, while laser etching may provide similar bond strength when compared to self-etch mode.