Bond Strength of Two Resin Cements to Dentin After Disinfection Pretreatment: Effects of Er,Cr:YSGG Laser Compared with Chemical Antibacterial Agent

Abstract

Objective: This study compared the effects of two disinfection procedures (2% chlorhexidine [CHX] solution versus Er,Cr:YSGG laser irradiation) on the shear bond strength of ED primer II/Panavia F2.0 (ED/P) and Excite DSC/Variolink N (Ex/V). Background data: Different methods are used for cavity disinfection prior to adhesive cementation, which may influence the bonding ability of resin cements. Methods: Flat dentin surfaces were prepared on 100 extracted premolars and randomly divided into 10 groups. In the eight experimental groups, indirect composite samples were cemented with either ED/P or Ex/V under three disinfecting conditions on the dentin surface as follows: (1) CHX application before ED primer II/ after etching, (2) wet laser irradiation (Er,Cr:YSGG laser, 20 Hz, 0.75 W, 15% water +15% air), (3) dry laser irradiation with no water and air cooling. The control groups had no disinfectant application. After 24 h water storage, bond strength test was performed. The data (MPa) were analyzed using two way ANOVA and Tukey tests. Results: The lowest and highest bond strengths were obtained by dry laser and wet laser (10.18±2.67 and 17.36±2.94 for ED/P, 9.64±2.66 and 20.07±3.36 for Ex/V, respectively). For each cement, two-by-two comparisons of four groups revealed significant differences only for dry laser with others (p<0.001). Conclusions: The use of CHX and Er,Cr:YSGG laser at the low fluences with water/air cooling as the antibacterial agents does not adversely influence the bonding ability of the etch-and-rinse and the self-etch cements.