Bond strength of self-etching primers to enamel and dentin of primary teeth.

Purpose: The objective of this in vitro study was to evaluate the tensile bond strength of three self-etching primers to human primary enamel and dentin.

Methods: Forty (40) freshly extracted primary molars were sectioned bucco-lingually and embedded in self-curing acrylic resin with the facial or lingual surfaces exposed. The specimens were wet ground to 600 grit SiC paper to expose a flat enamel or dentin surface. The materials tested were: Prompt L-Pop (LP2, ESPE), Clearfil SE Bond (CSE, Kuraray America), Etch and Prime 3.0 (EP, Degussa) anda control, Prime and Bond NT (NT, Dentsply/Caulk). The adhesive systems were applied according to the manufacturers' instructions. An inverted, truncated cone of composite (Pertac II, ESPE) with a 2-mm bonding diameter was cured using a polytetrafluoroethylene jig. The specimens were debonded in tension using a universal testing machine (Instron) at a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min.

Results: Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant differences existed between the four systems and two surfaces. To enamel of primary teeth, Prime and Bond NT had significantly higher bond strength (25.9 MPa) than when bonding with the three acidic primers Prompt L-Pop (18.5 MPa), Etch and Prime 3.0 (19.3 MPa) and Clearfil SE Bond (18.7 MPa). Complete bond failures occurred with Prompt L-Pop and Etch and Prime 3.0 to dentin of primary teeth. With a mean of 39 Mpa, the bond strength to dentin of primary teeth with Clearfil SE Bond was significantly higher than with Prime and Bond NT (12.5 MPa).

Conclusions: The results of this in vitro study show that the four adhesive systems tested bonded effectively to enamel of primary teeth, but only CSE achieved adequate bond strengths to dentin of primary teeth.