Factors associated with shear bond strength of composite resin to human enamel

The preparation of enamel surfaces before etching by removing 0.5 mm of surface tooth structure is common-place in modern restorative dentistry. This study was designed to measure and compare the shear bond strength of composite resin bonded to prepared and unprepared enamel using various proprietary bonding systems. The analysed results failed to show significant differences between the shear bond strengths of the prepared and unprepared enamel specimens. Conditioning enamel surfaces for 60 seconds using 2.5% nitric acid where the solution was allowed to desiccate, resulted in significantly lower bond strengths compared to the other regimes. A correlation of the etchant pH with the mean shear bond strength of the adhesive systems to enamel was observed. The surface topography of the etched enamel surfaces correlated moderately well with the bond strengths obtained.