Alternatives in enamel conditioning: a comparison of conventional and innovative methods

When composite restorative materials are used, conditioning of the enamel surface is necessary to achieve adequate retention of the composite material. Aside from conventional acid etching, laser treatment and pretreatment with kinetic cavity preparation technique are available. In our study, we compared the different methods using scanning electron microscopy and measurements of tensile strength. The results obtained using both laser treatments of Nd:YAG and Er:YAG lasers and kinetic cavity preparation were comparable to those obtained with the acid etching technique.