Effect of application mode on interfacial morphology and chemistry between dentine and self-etch adhesives

ObjectiveTo investigate the influence of application mode on the interfacial morphology and chemistry between dentine and self-etch adhesives with different aggressiveness.MethodsThe occlusal one-third of the crown was removed from un-erupted human third molars, followed by abrading with 600 grit SiC under water. Rectangular dentine slabs were prepared by sectioning the tooth specimens perpendicular to the abraded surfaces. The obtained dentine slabs were treated with one of the two one-step self-etch adhesives: Adper Easy Bond (AEB, pH ∼ 2.5) and Adper Prompt L-Pop (APLP, pH ∼ 0.8) with (15 s, active application) or without (15 s, inactive application) agitation. The dentine slabs were fractured and the exposed adhesive/dentine (A/D) interfaces were examined with micro-Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).ResultsThe interfacial morphology, degree of dentine demineralization (DD) and degree of conversion (DC) of the strong self-etch adhesive APLP showed more significant dependence on the application mode than the mild AEB. APLP exhibited inferior bonding at the A/D interface if applied without agitation, evidenced by debonding from the dentine substrate. The DDs and DCs of the APLP with agitation were higher than those of without agitation in the interface, in contrast to the comparable DD and DC values of two AEB specimen groups with different application modes. Raman spectral analysis revealed the important role of chemical interaction between acid monomers of self-etch adhesives and dentine in the above observations.ConclusionThe chemical interaction with dentine is especially important for improving the DC of the strong self-etching adhesive at the A/D interface. Agitation could benefit polymerization efficacy of the strong self-etch adhesive through enhancing the chemical interaction with tooth substrate.