Effect of remaining dentin thickness on bond strength of various adhesive systems to dentin

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of remaining dentin thickness (RDT) on resin composite bond strength to dentin surfaces when using various adhesive systems. One of three adhesives, Clearfil SE Bond, Single Bond or Clearfil Tri-S Bond, followed by Z100 resin composite were built up on flat dentin surfaces of human molars. The teeth were sectioned obtaining beams with cross-sectional areas of approximately 1 mm(2). RDT was measured and microtensile bond strength was determined. Resulting data were categorized into four groups: RDT<2 mm; 2 <= RDT<3 mm; 3 <= RDT<4 mm; RDT >= 4 mm. Clearfil SE Bond showed a correlation between mu TBS and RDT. Single Bond showed no significant difference in mu TBS for any RDT. The bond strength of resin composite to the different RDT flat dentin surfaces was affected by the adhesive system used.