Effects of dentine moisture on the permeability of total-etch and one-step self-etch adhesives.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the technique sensitivity of a one-bottle total-etch adhesive and a self-etch primer adhesive to the moisture condition of the dentine substrate.

Methods: The methods used were hydraulic conductance, light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.

Results: When the moisture conditions of the dentine surface are modified with respect to the standard, the bonded interfaces obtained with the one-bottle total-etch Adper Scotch Bond 1 XT (SB) and the all-in-one self-etch Adper Prompt L-Pop (AP) are morphologically highly perturbed. But, although this study also showed a significant (p<0.01) relationship between increases in permeability of resin-bonded dentine and variations of dentine moisture conditions with SB, a significant relationship was found only for the influence of the over-wet condition with AP.

Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study, the self-etch primer tested gave a greater reduction in dentine permeability than the one-bottle adhesive, while being more tolerant to handling. Although excess water should be avoided with both these systems, air-drying can be an alternative to wet-bonding with the self-etch primers, thus reducing the sensitivity to technique.