Purpose: To investigate the effects of four commercial silver diamine fluoride (SDF) agents on the chemical composition and microstructural properties of dentin, and its relation to the bond strength of two adhesives.
Materials and Methods: Ninety human molars were randomly divided into sound dentin (negative control), demineralized dentin (positive control), and four experimental groups (n = 15) according to the SDF treatments (Cariestop [Biodinamica Quimica y Farmaceutica], RivaStar 1 [SDI], RivaStar 2 [SDI], and Saforide [Tokyo Seiyaku Kasei]). ATR-FTIR, x-ray diffraction, and SEM techniques were employed to characterize the compositional, crystalline, and microstructural properties of the samples. The microtensile bond strength test evaluated the bonding performance of two adhesives in demineralized dentin treated with SDF agents.
Results: Regarding the chemical composition, all SDF-treated groups showed a significantly higher phosphate:organic matrix ratio than the demineralized dentin group (p < 0.05). The XRD analyses revealed that the crystallite size for hydroxyapatite crystals increased on the surface areas (deep, medium, and superficial dentin) for all experimental groups compared to demineralized dentin (p < 0.05). SEM images showed that the behavior of the agents used differs on each surface treated. Bond strength values were adversely affected with both adhesive systems in the four experimental groups (p < 0.05).
Conclusions: The application of SDF agents resulted in the formation of different crystalline phases of silver salts and the increase of mineralization of the pretreated demineralized dentin. However, SDF application showed a negative effect on the bond strength of the adhesives.