Evaluating resin-enamel bonds by microshear and microtensile bond strength tests: effects of composite resin

Objectives

The aims of this study were to evaluate the effect of resin composite (Filtek Z250 and Filtek Flow Z350) and adhesive system (Solobond Plus, Futurabond NR (VOCO) and Adper Single Bond (3M ESPE)] on the microtensile (µTBS) and microshear bond strength (µSBS) tests on enamel, and to correlate the bond strength means between them.

Material and methods

Thirty-six extracted human molars were sectioned to obtain two tooth halves: one for µTBS and the other one for µSBS. Adhesive systems and resin composites were applied to the enamel ground surfaces and light-cured. After storage (37ºC/24 h) specimens were stressed (0.5 mm/ min). Fracture modes were analyzed under scanning electron microscopy. The data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA and Tukey''s test (α=0.05).

Results

The correlation between tests was estimated with Pearson''s product-moment correlation statistics (α =0.05). For both tests only the main factor resin composite was statistically significant (p<0.05). The correlation test detected a positive (r=0.91) and significant (p=0.01) correlation between the tests.

Conclusions

The results were more influenced by the resin type than by the adhesives. Both microbond tests seem to be positive and linearly correlated and can therefore lead to similar conclusions.