Bond Strength of Self-Adhesive Restorative Materials Affected by Smear Layer Thickness but not Dentin Desiccation

Purpose: To use shear bond strength (SBS) testing to determine the effect of surface moisture and smear layer thickness on the adhesion of self-adhesive restorative materials and a universal adhesive. Materials and Methods: One single-step self-etch universal adhesive, Prime & Bond Active (PA), was used to bond Ceram.x Spectra ST HV composite resin to dentin and enamel using the self-etching technique. Three commercially available restorative materials and one newly developed material with self-adhesive properties, Activa (A), Fuji II LC(F), Equia Forte (E), and ASAR-MP4 (S), respectively, were also bonded to enamel and dentin prepared moist and dry and to dentin prepared with a thick smear layer. Shear bond testing was performed using an Ultradent bonding apparatus. Results: The universal adhesive generated the highest SBS to dentin and enamel, followed by the newly developed material. None of the materials tested were significantly affected by the moisture conditions on enamel or dentin. The thickness of smear layer significantly affected SBS to dentin for S, F, and E. However, S and F still exhibited higher shear bond strength to dentin with the thicker smear layer compared to the other self-adhesive materials. Only the universal adhesive in self-etch mode was not affected by the thicker smear layer and maintained significantly higher SBS. Conclusion: None of the materials tested were affected by bonding to overdried dentin or enamel. All of the self-adhesive materials exhibited lower SBS to specimens with a thicker smear layer. The newly developed material ASAR-MP4 compared favorably to the other self-adhesive materials tested under all test conditions. Keywords: adhesion to dental hard tissues, shear bond testing, glass ionomers, self-adhesive restoratives