Contemporary adhesive bonding: bridging the gap between research and clinical practice.

UNLABELLED The dawn of minimally invasive dentistry has led to the development of materials which rely on the use of effective adhesion to bond to remaining tooth tissue. Successful adhesive bonding is dependent upon appreciating the quality of the dental substrate, appropriate clinical handling of the material and patient, together with an appreciation of the chemistry of the adhesive. This paper outlines the current status of contemporary bonding, with particular emphasis on translating laboratory-based evidence into clinical practice. Using laboratory-based evidence, the ability of a bond to achieve a seal to enamel appears to be the best predictor of clinical performance. CLINICAL RELEVANCE This article discusses the issues raised when translating research data about adhesive bonding from the laboratory to clinical dental practice.