Effect of gamma radiation on dentin bond strength and morphology.

Sterilization by gamma radiation is a method often used for bone and extracted teeth banking. The bond strength of human dentin submitted to gamma rays has not been reported. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the effect of gamma radiation on dentin shear bond strength and morphology. The roots were removed from extracted human bicuspids and their crowns divided into two groups: an untreated control and crowns submitted to gamma radiation sterilization. The crowns were mounted in epoxy resin and the buccal enamel removed exposing the subjacent dentin. SBMPPlus adhesive system was applied to a 3-mm diameter area after 15 s of 35% phosphoric acid etching. The samples were mounted in composite resin cylinders and stored in distilled water at 37 degrees C for 24 h until the shear test. Dental fragments from both groups were prepared for SEM analysis. There was no statistically significant difference between the results of the shear test for the two groups according to the Tukey test (p > 0.05). Scanning electron micrographs also did not show alterations. These results indicate that gamma radiation neither affected the shear bond strength of SBMPPlus nor altered the dentin surface morphology.