Bonding performance of universal adhesives on composite repairs, with or without silane application

This study aims to investigate the adhesive performance of three different universal adhesives to repair aged composite restorations, with or without the application of silane.

A hundred and twenty resin composite samples were prepared, aged and randomly divided into 6 main Groups (single bond universal [SBU], All-Bond Universal [ABU], Futurabond U, Clearfil Tri-S Bond, Single Bond 2, and Clearfil SE Bond) and 2 subgroups (with or without silane). A microhybrid composite resin was placed on the aged composite surfaces and light cured. After a micro-shear bonding test, the fracture surfaces were examined under the scanning electron microscopy. Statistical analysis was performed using two-way ANOVA and Tukey's post hoc tests.

Among all the universal adhesives, SBU showed the highest bond strength values compared to the other two universal adhesives when used with and without silane (P > 0.05). Between ABU and Futurabond U, no significant difference was observed with silane (P > 0.05) and without silane (P > 0.05). Among conventional adhesives, there was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05) both with and without silane.

Within the limitations of this study, while SBU can be safely used with and without the application of silane, Futurabond U cannot be used without silane.