RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of application time on the resin-dentin bond strength (µTBS) and etching pattern of adhesive systems applied on sclerotic dentine. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of forty-two bovine incisors had their roots removed. The 1-step self-etch GO (SDI), the 2-step self-etch Adper SE Bond (3MESPE) and the 35% phosphoric acid (3MESPE) from the 2-step etch-and-rinse Adper Single Bond 2 (3MESPE) were applied on the bovine incisal surfaces according to the manufacturer's instructions or duplicating the recommended conditioning time. After adhesive application, thirty teeth were restored with composite resin, stored for 24 h in distilled water at 37°C, and sectioned into resin-dentin bonded sticks (0.8 mm²) and tested according to the µTBS at 0.5 mm/min. The etching pattern of the remaining twelve teeth (n=4 for each material) was examined under scanning electron microscopy. Each tooth was divided into a buccal-to-lingual direction into three thirds, and each third randomly assigned to the groups: control (no treatment), according to the manufacturers' instructions and duplicating the recommended application time. The µTBS and the relative percentage of the tubule area opening were evaluated by two-way repeated measures ANOVA and Tukey's tests (α=0.05). RESULTS: The duplication of the conditioning time favored only the GO adhesive (p<0.05). Both application methods significantly increased the tubule area opening (p<0.05) compared to the controls. CONCLUSIONS: The efficacy of duplicating the conditioning time was only effective for the 1-step self-etch adhesive system tested.