Repair strength of dimethacrylate-based composites resins: Effect of sandblasting, adhesive bonding, and thermocycling

The goal of this study is to determine the effect of different sandblasting particles and dental adhesive systems on the repair strength of dimethacrylate-based composite resins. In this study, 96 specimens of X-trafil composite blocks were prepared and divided into eight groups ( = 12). Four groups were sandblasted with Aluminum Oxide (AL) and four other groups with Bio-Active Glass particles (BAG). A two-component silane was applied on the surface of all the samples after phosphoric acid etching and rinsing. Two groups of the sandblasted specimens were treated with Clearfil SE Bond (CSB) and the other two groups were treated with Single Bond Universal (SBU) and new composite was bonded to the prepared surfaces. Half of the specimens in each group were thermocycled. Shear force was applied to the bonded composite using a universal testing machine with a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min and mean shear bond strength (MSBS) was calculated (MPa). The data was analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Man-Whitney U-tests with the significance level of 0.05. Significant differences were observed between different groups ( < 0.001). The highest and the lowest MSBS of the thermocycled samples were reported 18.88 MPa with application of AL and SBU and 11.46 MPa with the application of AL and CSB, respectively. No significant difference was observed with application of BAG particles after thermocycling. Effect of AL on repair shear bond strength of composite resins is affected by bonding type. Bonding type did not affect repair shear bond strength of BAG. Thermocycling reduced bond strength in all groups.