Water Sorption and Solubility of Four Self-etching, Self-adhesive Resin Luting Agents

Purpose: To evaluate and compare the water sorption and water solubility of four self-etching, self-adhesive resin luting agents. Materials and Methods: Four self-etching, self-adhesive resin luting agents (RelyX Unicem, Maxcem, Biscem, Multilink Sprint) and one classic resin luting agent (Multilink Automix) as a control group were used. Twelve disks (8 mm x 1 mm) of each material were prepared according to ISO 4049. Water sorption and solubility were calculated, using the formulae which the ISO 4049 specification provides. Results: Maxcem and Biscem were found to have very high water sorption values. RelyX Unicem and Multilink Sprint exhibited water sorption values only slightly higher than the control group. Regarding water solubility, the greater mass loss was found for Maxcem. Multilink Sprint exhibited no mass change. Biscem was found to have low solubility values, whereas RelyX Unicem and Multilink Automix exhibited negative solubility. Conclusion: Multilink Sprint and RelyX Unicem were found to comply with the ISO requirements regarding water sorption and solubility, while Maxcem and Biscem did not. Materials of the same group exhibited very different behavior during their interaction with water. Keywords: resin luting agents, self-etching, self-adhesive resin luting agents, water sorption, water solubility, dual-set materials