The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the pH effect of doxycycline solutions on the immediate dentin bond strength of a total-etch adhesive system. Twenty human molars were divided into 4 groups (n = 5) after acid etching according to surface treatment: 10% acidic doxycycline, 10% neutral doxycycline, 2% chlorhexidine, and control. Composite resin blocks were made and subjected to microtensile testing. Mean bond strength values were submitted to a 1-way analysis of variance and a Tukey test (α = 0.05). No statistically significant differences between the experimental groups were found (P = 0.093). The chlorhexidine group showed the highest number of pretesting failures. The application of either acidic or neutral doxycycline solution prior to the dentin adhesive did not influence the bond strength of the total-etch adhesive system evaluated.
Keywords: adhesive system; chlorhexidine; matrix metalloproteinases; tetracyclines.