Bond strength of bulk-fill resin composites: the effect of cavity preparation and aging

Aim: Evaluating the resin-dentin bond strength of Class II conventional and bulk-fill composite restorations, using different cavity sizes before and after aging. Methods: Seventy-five human molars were distributed into groups according to the buccolingual width of the cavities, conservative (n=25) and extended (n=50). They were divided according to the restorative material: conventional (Z100/control group) or bulk-fill resin composites (Filtek Bulk Fill/FBF; Tetric N Ceram Bulk Fill/TNCBF; Filtek Bulk Fill Flow/FBFF; Surefill SDR flow/SDR). The restored teeth were sectioned on sticks (n=50 per restorative materials + width cavities group), half were stored in Water/Ethanol 75% for 30 days and the other half were submitted to the immediate microtensile bond strength (µTBS) test. Data were analyzed applying the Three-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Bonferroni test, test t, and Weibull analyses (p<0.05). Results: SDR and FBF presented lower µTBSvalues for extended preparation when compared to the conservative preparation, before aging. After aging, only for the FBFF, a decrease in the µTBSvalues was observed. Comparing the µTBSvalues, before and after aging, the SDR demonstrated lower µTBSvalues after aging when the conservative cavity was used. A decrease in the µTBSvalues was observed for the Z100, the FBF and, the FBFF, after aging, when the extended cavity was used. Conclusion: The effect of cavity preparation and aging on the resin-dentin of Class II is material dependent. Most of the bulk-fill resin composites evaluated presented a similar performance to the conventional resin composites for all the conditions of this study

Impact of radiotherapy on the bond strength of different adhesive systems to human dentin: one-year in vitro evaluation

Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of radiotherapy on the bond strength of resin-based composite restorations to dentin, performed either 24 h or 1 year before or after radiation. Methods: Ninety-six posterior teeth were randomly distributed into the following groups: IB (n = 16), irradiated teeth were restored 1 year after x-ray application; NB (n = 16), not irradiated teeth were stored for 1 year and then restored. IA (n = 32), teeth were restored and irradiated at 24 h or 1 year after the restoration. NA (n = 32), teeth were restored, not irradiated, and tested as IA. Eight samples from each group were randomly assigned to either the three-step or two-step etch-and rinse adhesive system procedure. The irradiated specimens were subjected to 60 Gy of x-ray radiation fractionally. The restored teeth were vertically sectioned, and 1-mm2 resin­dentin sticks were obtained and submitted to the microtensile bond strength test. The bond strength data were analyzed by two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Tukey's test (p < 0.05). Failure modes were examined by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Results: The IB group showed lower bond strength values compared to the NB group. The bond strength values between the adhesive systems were not statistically different. Conclusion: The application of radiation dose decreased the bond strength of the adhesive restorations to dentin when the bonding procedure was conducted 1 year after in vitro radiotherapy