Scanning electron microscopy observations on the penetration and structure of resin tags in bleached and unbleached bovine enamel

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of hydrogen peroxide on the ability of composite resin to penetrate bovine enamel etched with phosphoric acid. In a previous investigation, the flattened enamel surfaces of extracted bovine incisors were immersed in either saline (control) or 35% hydrogen peroxide (experimental) for 5 or 30 min before or after acid etching with 37% phosphoric acid gel for 60 s. A standard-sized light-cured resin cylinder was then bonded to the enamel surface. The specimens were stored in a water bath at 37°C for 1 day or 7 days, after which the enamel-resin bond was tensile tested to failure. Sixteen of the failed specimens (eight control and eight experimental) were randomly selected for the present scanning electron microscopic study to evaluate the appearance of the resin tags at the resin-enamel interface. In the control specimens, the tags were well defined and contiguous with resin which was uniformly adherent to the enamel surface. In the experimental specimens, large areas of the enamel surface were free of resin. When tags were present, they were fragmented, poorly defined, and penetrated to a lesser depth than in the saline controls. The changes observed suggest that there may be interaction between resin and residual peroxide at or near the enamel surface.