Effect of Various Aging Protocols and Intermediate Agents on the Bond Strength of Repaired Composites

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of two adhesive systems and different aging protocols on the bond strength of a -repaired microhybrid composite. Materials and Methods: Eighty test specimens (n = 20) and 10 control specimens measuring 8 x 4 mm were fabricated of a microhybrid composite (4 Seasons, shade A2) and grouped according to time/aging protocol: G1: 24 h in artificial saliva; G2: 7 days in artificial saliva; G3: 30 days in artificial saliva; G4: artificial accelerated aging (AAA) for 384 h; G5: control. After aging, samples were submitted to three types of surface treatment: SB2: Adper Single Bond 2, a two-step adhesive (3M ESPE); SB3: Adper Scotchbond Multi-Purpose, a three-step adhesive (3M ESPE); C: without application of adhesive (control). After this, test specimens were repaired with the same composite of a different shade (C3), and submitted to the microtensile test at a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min. Failure modes were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (Jeol JSM 7500). Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA and Tukey's test (p 0.05). Results: G2/SB2 presented significantly lower bond strength values in comparison with the other groups (p 0.05). The control group presented the highest bond strength values, which differed statistically significantly from SB3, G3/SB2, and G4/SB2 (p 0.05). Fractographic analysis demonstrated that most samples presented predominantly cohesive failures, excepting GI/SB2, which presented mixed and cohesive failures, and G4/SB2 and G1/SB3, which showed adhesive failures. Conclusion: The repair was more effective when performed after a short period of time and when the 3-step adhesive system (SB3) was used. Keywords: dental materials, composites, bond strength, artificial aging