An In Vitro Investigation of a Comparison of Bond Strengths of Composite to Etched and Air-Abraded Human Enamel Surfaces

Purpose: The purposes of the study were to measure the tensile bond strength of composite resin to human enamel specimens that had been either etched or air‐abraded, and to compare the quality of the marginal seal, through the assessment of microleakage, of composite resin to human enamel specimens that had been either etched or air‐abraded. Materials and Methods: Thirty mandibular molar teeth were decoronated and sectioned mesio‐distally to produce six groups, each containing ten specimens that were embedded in acrylic resin using a jig. In each of the four treatment groups, the specimen surfaces were treated by either abrasion with 27 or 50 μm alumina at 4 mm or 20 mm distance, and a composite resin was bonded to the treated surfaces in a standardized manner. In the two control groups the specimens were treated with 15 seconds exposure to 36% phosphoric acid gel and then similarly treated before being stored in sterile water for 1 week. All specimens were then subjected to tensile bond strength testing at either 1 or 5 mm/min crosshead speed. For the microleakage study, the degree of dye penetration was measured 32 times for each treatment group, using a neutral methylene blue dye at the interface between composite and either 27 or 50 μm air‐abraded tooth structure or etched enamel surfaces. Results: The mean bond strength values recorded for Group 1 (phosphoric acid etch, 5 mm/min crosshead speed) was 25.4 MPa; Group 2 (phosphoric acid etch, 1 mm/min), 22.2 MPa; Group 3 (27 μm alumina at 4 mm distance), 16.8 MPa; Group 4 (50 μm alumina at 4 mm distance), 16.9 MPa; Group 5 (27 μm alumina at 20 mm distance), 4.2 MPa; and for Group 6 (50 μm alumina at 20 mm distance) 3.4 MPa. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrated significant differences among the groups, and a multiple comparison test (Tukey) demonstrated that conventionally etched specimens had a greater bond strength than air‐abraded specimen groups. No significant difference in dye penetration could be demonstrated among the groups (p= 0.58). Conclusions: Composite resin applied to enamel surfaces prepared using an acid etch procedure exhibited higher bond strengths than those prepared with air abrasion technology. The abrasion particle size did not affect the bond strength produced, but the latter was adversely affected by the distance of the air abrasion nozzle from the enamel surface. The crosshead speed of the bond testing apparatus had no effect on the bond strengths recorded. The marginal s