Cleaning and Conditioning of Contaminated Core Build-Up Material before Adhesive Bonding

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different cleaning and conditioning procedures after contamination on the tensile bond strength (TBS) of a luting resin to a core build-up composite resin. Specimens (n = 384) made of a core build-up material were stored for 3 weeks in 37 °C water. Half of the specimens were contaminated with saliva and a disclosing silicone and then cleaned either using phosphoric acid, a pumice suspension, air-abrasion with alumina or polishing powder. Surface conditioning was performed by either using a dentin adhesive, a silane containing primer or a composite resin primer, which resulted in 24 unique combinations of 16 specimens per group. Before measuring TBS, half of the specimens of each group were stored in 37 °C water for 3d or were artificially aged for 150 days. Results show that cleaning with pumice or air-abrasion are superior methods compared to using a polishing powder or phosphoric acid. Silane is an inferior conditioning agent compared to composite or dentin primers. Ideally, after contamination, bonding surfaces should be cleaned with a pumice suspension and conditioned with a dentin adhesive. Those surfaces could also be cleaned and conditioned with air-abrasion with alumina particles and a composite resin primer.