Saliva contamination of dentin bonding agents

Area of Science:

• Dental Materials Science
• Adhesive Dentistry
• Biomaterials

Background:

• Saliva contamination can compromise the integrity of dental restorations.
• Understanding the impact of saliva on dentin bonding agents (DBAs) is crucial for clinical success.
• Two common DBAs, All-Bond 2 and Scotchbond Multi-Purpose, were evaluated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of saliva contamination at different application stages on the shear bond strength of two dentin bonding agents.
• To determine if saliva contamination significantly impacts the bond strength of dental adhesives to dentin.

Main Methods:

• Eighty human third molar teeth were divided into four groups for each DBA.
• Groups were subjected to saliva contamination at specific steps: post-primer, post-adhesive, during primer application, or no contamination.
• Specimens underwent thermocycling and shear bond strength testing at 7 days.

Main Results:

• Saliva contamination generally lowered shear bond strength values compared to the control group.
• Despite a reduction in bond strength, no statistically significant differences were observed between the means of the contaminated and uncontaminated groups.
• The timing of saliva contamination did not lead to statistically significant variations in bond strength outcomes.

Conclusions:

• While saliva contamination may reduce shear bond strength to dentin, it did not result in statistically significant bond failures in this study.
• Clinical protocols for dental adhesive application should aim to minimize saliva exposure to optimize bond durability.
• Further research may explore different contamination levels or types of saliva to fully elucidate the clinical implications.