Comparative Evaluation of Micro-tensile Bond Strength in Non-carious Lesions After Different Pre-surface Treatments

Non-carious cervical lesions (NCCLs) present themselves as smooth saucer lesions with variable height and depth. Treatment of choice for these lesions should be aimed at conservative management by restoring the teeth. The present study aims to evaluate the micro-tensile bond strength in NCCLs after various surface pre-treatments.

Sixty-six human permanent maxillary first premolars were subjected to artificial wedge-shaped lesions on the buccal aspect of the cervical regions of all the teeth. Samples were divided into two groups (n = 33 per group). Group 1 received a 37% orthophosphoric acid treatment for 30 seconds and a 17% ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) application for 10 seconds. Group 2 received a 10% citric acid treatment for 30 seconds, followed by a 17% EDTA application for 10 seconds. These groups were further subdivided according to the bonding agent applied as subgroup A: 3M™ Single Bond™; Subgroup B: Prime & Bond Universal group; and Subgroup C: Tetric N-Bond Universal. Samples were subjected to incremental restoration and then segmented to fit into Geraldelli jig with cyanoacrylate adhesive. A universal testing machine was used to assess the micro-tensile bond strength and the data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis.

In this study, statistically significant differences in micro-tensile strength were observed between the pre-treatment groups and the effect of the bonding agent. Consequently, the null hypothesis was rejected, and the research hypothesis was accepted. The micro-tensile strength for both groups was compared with various pre-conditioning methods. It was noted that the micro-tensile strength was maximum when Tetric N Bond was used along with 37% orthophosphoric acid followed by Prime Bond with highly statistically significant values (p = 0.000). Contrary to this, in the 10% citric acid group, the micro-tensile strength was equally comparable in the 3M ESPE and Tetric N bond groups compared to the Prime Bond group, with highly statistically significant differences (p = 0.000).

Surface pre-treatment in NCCLs improves the bonding strength of the restoration used. Analysis using scanning electron microscopy and long-term assessment of the failure of restoration should be carried out in future studies.