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Bonding performance of surface treatments for luting semidirect composite resin restorations: An in vitro study
Rodrigo Rohenkohl Silva1, Lucas Pizzolotto1, Carla Lucía David Peña2
1Doctoral student, Graduate Program in Dentistry, Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel), Pelotas, RS, Brazil.
Statement Of Problem:
Despite the growing use of semidirect composite resin restorations, a consensus on the most effective surface treatment protocol for bonding them with luting agents is lacking.
Purpose:
The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the microtensile bond strength (μTBS) of semidirect composite resins bonded with a dual-polymerized luting agent under 6 different surface treatment protocols.
Material And Methods:
Composite resin blocks (Applic, Filtek Z250 XT, Vittra APS; N=180) were fabricated, microwave postpolymerized, and treated using combinations of airborne-particle abrasion (AA), phosphoric acid (PA), silane (S), and universal adhesive (U). Specimens were bonded with a dual-polymerized luting agent, sectioned into beam-shaped sticks (n≈28/group), and tested for μTBS either immediately or after aging (210 days in water at 37 °C + 25 000 thermocycles). Failure modes were classified, and representative specimens were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. Data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis, Dunn post hoc, linear mixed model, and chi-squared tests (α=.05).
Results:
Surface treatment was the main factor influencing μTBS. Protocols including AA generally produced higher values; omitting AA (PA+S+U, PA+U, U) was associated with lower μTBS versus AA+PA+S+U (P<.01). Applic showed no significant differences among protocols with either condition (P≥.12) and no change with aging (P>.999). For Filtek Z250 XT, AA+PA+S+U was significantly higher than PA+U and U in the immediate condition (P≤.002) and higher than PA+U after aging (P=.02). For Vittra APS, no differences were detected immediately; after aging, AA+PA+S+U was significantly higher than PA+S+U, PA+U, and U (P≤.007), and AA+U was higher than PA+U (P=.04). The mixed model confirmed lower μTBS for Vittra APS compared with Applic (estimate -6.63 MPa; P<.01). Aging showed a statistically similar overall effect (P=.47). Adhesive failures predominated, and failure distribution was significantly influenced by all factors (P≤.05).
Conclusions:
Airborne-particle abrasion enhanced bonding to semidirect composite resins. Composite resin type and surface treatment affected bond strength, while aging had no overall effect.
