Effect of prolonged application times on the durability of resin-dentin bonds.

OBJECTIVES To examine the effect of prolonged application time on the early and 3-year resin-dentin microtensile bond strength. METHODS Water/ethanol (Single Bond [SB]) and acetone-based systems (One Step [OS]) were employed. A flat superficial dentin surface was exposed in third human molars by wet abrasion. The adhesives were applied to a delimited area of 52 mm2 on wet surfaces, for 40, 90, 150 and 300 s. Four teeth were assigned for each experimental condition. Composite build-ups were constructed incrementally. After water storage at 37 degrees C for 24 h, teeth were sectioned to obtain sticks with cross-sectional areas of 0.8 mm2 to be tested in tension (0.5 mm/min) either immediately (IM) or after 3 years (3Y) of water storage. The microtensile bond strength (microTBS) values were analyzed by two way repeated measures ANOVA and Tukey's test (alpha=0.05). RESULTS The 90- and 150-s groups achieved the highest IM microTBS for OS (p<0.01). For SB, the highest IM microTBS values were observed after 300-s application (p<0.01). Significant decreases in microTBS were observed for OS in the 40- and 90-s groups after 3Y, except for the 150-s group. With regard to SB, after 3Y significant drops in microTBS values were observed for the 40- and 150-s groups, except for the 300-s group. SIGNIFICANCE Prolonged application times can increase the immediate microTBS of two-step etch-and-rinse adhesive systems and make the adhesive layer more stable over time.