Are self-etch adhesives reliable for primary tooth dentin? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The purpose of this study was to systematically evaluate the dentin bond strength of etch-and-rinse and self-etch adhesives to primary teeth. In this study, PubMed, ISI (all databases), Scopus, and Cochrane Database were searched according to the selected keywords up to May 11, 2016. The full texts of published articles that appeared to meet the primary criteria for inclusion in this study were obtained. Due to the variation in the methods used, the studies were divided into 2 groups: Group 1 - studies that evaluated the micro-tensile bond strengths (MTBSs) of two-step etch-and-rinse adhesives and two-step self-etch adhesives and Group 2 - studies that evaluated the MTBSs of two-step etch-and-rinse adhesives and one-step self-etch adhesives. The initial search yielded 1447 publications. After a methodological assessment, 8 publications were selected. The results of this study showed that the MTBS of the etch-and-rinse adhesives and the two-step self-etch adhesives were similar (P = 0.34), and both were significantly higher than that of the one-step self-etch adhesive (P = 0.001). This meta-analysis showed that the application of two-step self-etch adhesives performs well when used for primary dentin and can be used to save time in pediatric dentistry.

In vitro evaluation of the antibacterial activity of three root canal sealers.

INTRODUCTION: Antibacterial activity is one of the desirable properties of an ideal sealer. This study aimed to compare the antimicrobial effect of three different sealers, i.e. resin (AH26), calcium hydroxide (Apexit) and zinc oxide eugenol (ZOE) based sealers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Direct contact test with agar diffusion was used in this in vitro study. The freshly mixed sealers were AH26, Apexit and pure ZOE. They were prepared according to manufacturer's instruction and placed in prepared wells of 30 agar plates inoculated with Streptococcus (S) mutans and Prevotella (P) melaninogenicus (15 samples for each microorganism). All plates were incubated for 7 days (196 hours) at 37˚C under anaerobic conditions, and zones of inhibition were measured after 3 days, 5 days and 7 days. The data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Friedman tests. RESULTS: In all determined intervals, the antibacterial activity of AH26 was significantly greater than other test materials (P<0.001). ZOE sealer had moderate effect on test microorganisms, whilst Apexit showed the lowest antibacterial activity on S. Mutans and no antibacterial activity on P. melaninogenicus. CONCLUSION: The ascending sequence of bacterial growth inhibition zones was as AH26>Pure ZOE>Apexit.