Clinical evaluation of single bond universal adhesive in non-carious cervical lesions: a 36-month retrospective study

To evaluate the 36-month clinical performance of Single Bond Universal Adhesive (SBU; 3M ESPE, Germany) in non-carious cervical lesions (NCCLs) using different modes of adhesion according to the FDI criteria. The primary outcome was the retention loss of the restorations, while the secondary outcomes included marginal staining, marginal adaptation, post-operative sensitivity and tooth vitality, recurrence of caries erosion and abfraction, and tooth integrity, all evaluated according to the FDI criteria.

In this study, the SBU Adhesive was applied to 246 NCCLs of 25 patients using different modes of adhesion: Self-etch (SE), selective-enamel-etching (SLE), and etch-and-rinse (ER). All lesions were restored with the same nanohybrid resin composite. The restorations were evaluated at the 1st, the 6th, 12th, 18th, and 36th month using the FDI criteria. The differences between SE, SLE, and ER groups were tested using the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests where a value of p < 0.05 was accepted as a criterion for statistical significance.

After 36-month the recall rate was 96%. The retention loss rates were 29.33% for SE, 16.66% for SLE, and 3.89% for ER modes. Interactions between time periods and adhesive modes were found to be statistically significant (p < 0.05) for all FDI criteria. ER mode performed significantly better than SE mode for marginal staining, marginal adaptation and recurrence of caries, erosion and abfraction criteria after the 36th month (p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between SE and SLE mode (p > 0.05), nor between SLE and ER mode (p > 0.05).

After the 36-month evaluation of all adhesive modes used in the study, restorations performed with the ER adhesion mode were clinically good (2), while those performed with the SE adhesion mode and SLE adhesion mode were clinically satisfactory (3) according to the FDI criteria. The primary outcome, retention loss, was significantly lower in the ER mode compared to SE and SLE modes. For secondary outcomes, the ER mode showed better performance in marginal staining, marginal adaptation, and the recurrence of caries, erosion, and abfraction highlighting its clinical advantages for mid-term success in non-carious cervical lesions.

Restorations performed with the SE adhesion mode of universal adhesives exhibit clinically acceptable behavior after 36 months of evaluation, although with less success than those performed with the ER adhesion mode.

Clinical trials number- NCT06227715, Clinical trials link: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06227715.