Statement of the problem: The performance of self-etch systems on enamel is controversial and seems to be dependent on the application technique and the enamel preparation.
Purpose of the study: To examine the effects of conditioning time and enamel surface preparation on bond strength and etching pattern of adhesive systems to enamel.
Materials and methods: Ninety-six teeth were divided into 16 conditions (N=6) in function of enamel preparation and conditioning time for bond strength test. The adhesive systems OptiBond FL (Kerr, Orange, CA, USA), OptiBond SOLO Plus (Kerr), Clearfil SE Bond (Kuraray, Osaka, Japan), and Adper Prompt L-Pop (3M ESPE, St. Paul, MN, USA) were applied on unground or ground enamel following the manufacturers' directions or doubling the conditioning time. Cylinders of Filtek Flow (0.5-mm height) were applied to each bonded enamel surface using a Tygon tube (0.7 mm in diameter; Saint-Gobain Corp., Aurora, OH, USA). After storage (24 h/37 degrees C), the specimens were subjected to shear force (0.5 mm/min). The data were treated by a three-way analysis of variance and Tukey's test (alpha=0.05). The failure modes of the debonded interfaces and the etching pattern of adhesives were observed using scanning electron microscopy.
Results: Only the main factor "adhesive" was statistically significant (p<0.001). The lowest bond strength value was observed for OptiBond FL. The most defined etching pattern was observed for 35% phosphoric acid and for Adper Prompt L-Pop. Mixed failures were observed for all adhesives, but OptiBond FL showed cohesive failures in resin predominantly.
Conclusions: The increase in the conditioning time as well as the enamel pretreatment did not provide an increase in the resin-enamel bond strength values for the studied adhesives.
Clinical significance: The surface enamel preparation and the conditioning time do not affect the performance of self-etch systems to enamel.