Interfacial fracture toughness of aged adhesive-dentin interfaces.

Objective: To assess interfacial fracture toughness of different adhesive approaches and compare to a standard micro-tensile bond-strength (μTBS) test after 6 months water storage.

Methods: Chevron-notched beam fracture toughness (CNB) was determined using a modified ISO 24370:2005 standard. Adhesive-dentin micro-specimens (1.0 mm × 1.0 mm × 8-10 mm) were stressed in tensile until failure to determine the micro-tensile bond strength (μTBS).

Results: The highest mean μTBS and interfacial fracture toughness were measured for the multi-step adhesives Clearfil SE Bond (Kuraray Noritake) and OptiBond FL (Kerr). While large differences were observed in the bond strength values (from 7.4 to 27.2 MPa) of the one-step self-etch adhesives tested, interfacial fracture toughness was less different (from 0.7 to 1.0 MPam(1/2)). The adhesive with the lowest mean toughness (All-bond Universal, Bisco) had however the highest Weibull reliability, which might be a better parameter in regard to more consistent clinical performance. The self-adhesive composite Vertise Flow (Kerr) scored significantly lower at all levels.

Significance: Although the ranking of the adhesives tested using CNB and μTBS corresponded well, the outcome of CNB appeared more reliable and less variable.