Purpose: To examine the effect of CHX pre-treatment on long-term bond strength of fiber posts luted with self-adhesive resin cements. Materials and Methods: Seventy-two single-rooted teeth were selected for root canal treatment and post space preparation. The tested self-adhesive cement/post combinations were (N = 36): 1. RelyX Fiber-Posts luted with RelyX Unicem; 2. Rebilda Posts luted with Bifix SE Cement. For both self-adhesive cements, half of the specimens (experimental groups) were luted after the application of a solution of 2% CHX, while no CHX application was performed for the remaining specimens (control groups). Luted specimens were cut and used for push-out bond strength evaluation immediately, and after storage in artificial saliva for 6 months or 1 year. Additional specimens were processed for quantitative interfacial nanoleakage analysis. Results: ANOVA showed that the variable times of storage had a significant influence on the results (p 0.05), while no influence of the luting procedure (cements with or without CHX) on the final outcome (p > 0.05) was found. Tukey's pairwise post-hoc test showed that the radicular bond strength decreased with time of storage. In particular, a significant difference was found between T0 and T1y, but not between T0 and T6m. In contrast, in terms of pretreatment, no significant reduction in push-out bond strength was observed, irrespective of the aging time. Conclusion: CHX pretreatment did not prevent bond strength degradation of fiber posts luted with self-adhesive cements. Keywords: chlorhexidine, dentin bonding agents, fiber posts, nanoleakage analysis, push out, self-adhesive cements

Purpose: This study examined the effects of matrix metalloproteinase-inhibiting solutions and aging methods on the bond strength between resin composite and human dentin. Materials and Methods: Crown segments of 105 human non-carious molars were bonded using simulated pulpal pressure at 20 cm water pressure. The teeth were randomly split into 5 groups according to the solution applied: CG (control, no solution), CHX (0.2% chlorhexidine), EPE (10% ethanolic propolis extract), APE (aqueous propolis extract), and E (70% ethanol). Each solution was left on the acid-etched dentin for 1 min. Adper Single Bond 2 and resin composite (Filtek Z350 XT) were applied to all specimens. The 5 groups were subdivided according to the aging method: SI (sectioned immediately); S (storage in artificial saliva for 6 months); and T (thermomechanical aging with 240,000 mechanical cycles and 1000 thermal cycles). Specimens were sectioned into sticks and subjected to microtensile testing. Bond strength data were analyzed by two-factor ANOVA followed by a post-hoc Tukey's test (α = 0.05). Results: For the factor "solution", there was no significant difference among the groups (p = 0.32). For the factor "aging method", significant differences were found (p 0.001), with the following mean bond strengths (MPa): SI: 31.1; S: 24.4; T: 26.8. Conclusions: The use of matrix metalloproteinase-inhibiting solutions on dentin as an adjunct to the application of an etch-and-rinse adhesive does not prevent the loss of bond strength after aging. Nevertheless, these solutions have no adverse effect on adhesion to tooth structure. Keywords: aging, matrix metalloproteinase, resin composite, tensile strength

Purpose: To determine whether high-pressure air blowing during adhesive application affects the infiltration of resin comonomers and nanoleakage manifestation in the resin/dentin interface under simulated pulpal pressure. Materials and Methods: Thirty mid-coronal dentin surfaces were bonded with an etch-and-rinse adhesive (Adper Single Bond 2) under simulated pulpal pressure. In the control group, the adhesive was thinned by ordinary air blowing with a pressure of 0.2 MPa, while in the experimental group, a high-pressure air blowing technique (pressure: 0.4 MPa) was used. All other procedures followed the manufacturer's instructions. Resin tag formation and nanoleakage in the bonding interface were evaluated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Results: When adhesive was thinned with high pressure air blowing, longer and more homogeneous resin tags were formed. The bonding interface demonstrated good overall morphology and integrity. Almost perfect infiltration of resin and no obvious nanoleakage were observed. Conclusion: Thinning of adhesive with high-pressure air blowing provides a clinically feasible adjunctive procedure for better resin infiltration. Keywords: bonding, nanoleakage, hybrid layer, adhesive, high-pressure blowing, infiltration