Does Pigment Incorporation into Regular Composite Resins for Posterior Buildups Alter Their Bond Strength?

Posterior build-ups are auxiliary devices to orthodontic treatment which are made with resin-based or glass ionomer composites. Their removal requires care to protect the tooth surface, therefore, pigmented materials are preferred for a better visualization. This study proposed a pigmentation experimental technique of a regular composite resin, evaluating the microshear bond strength test (µ-SBT) of this experimental pigmented resin and comparing with a blue-colored polyacid-modified composite resin, used for posterior buildups. Forty-eight buccal and lingual surfaces of human teeth were used and randomly divided into 4 groups (n=12). The groups were divided into: C (control), regular composite resin; P, regular composite resin pigmented; UBL, Ultra Band Lok™; OB, Ortho Bite™. The composites were bonded using a matrix to obtain microcylinders and prepared for each experimental groups. The samples were then stored in distilled water for 24h at 37°C followed by a µ-SBT. The types of bond failures were evaluated using a stereoscopic magnifying glass (10×). The data were analyzed by ANOVA with Fisher post hoc and Dunnett´s test. Means of µ-SBT± standard deviation (MPa) were: C (39.98a±13.0), P (40.09a± 14.3); UBL (33.26ab±8.6); OB (28.70b±5.5). The most prevalent type of failure was adhesive (80.4%). Further, was not observed a statistically significant correlation between the bond strength values and failure patterns. The pigmentation of a commercially available resin did not alter the µ-SBT and exhibited similar adhesiveness as a polyacid-modified composite resin.