Adhesion to Er:YAG laser and bur prepared root and crown dentine

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the bond strengths between dentine and resin composite obtained after Er:YAG laser treatment of crown or root dentine used together with self-etch and total-etch adhesive systems. Methods: One etch-and-rinse adhesive (Single Bond, 3M, USA) and one self-etch system (Clearfil SE Bond, Kuraray, Japan) were applied to root and crown dentine prepared with a regular bur in a turbine or with an Er:YAG laser. The shear bond strength was determined after thermocycling and statistically analysed using independent t-tests. Results: Crown sites bonded using Clearfil SE Bond and Single Bond adhesives yielded bond strengths similar to that of root dentine sites (p > 0.05). Clearfil SE Bond was stronger in both the lased and non-lased groups (p < 0.05). The lowest bond strength was obtained when Single Bond without acid etching was used on Er:YAG ablated dentine. When total-etch adhesive was used, there were significant differences (p < 0.05) between the laser-ablated and laser-ablated/acid-etched and bur-cut/acid-etched groups. Conclusions: Er:YAG laser irradiation of root and crown dentine conducted prior to the adhesive protocol adversely affected adhesion and decreased bond strength compared with traditional preparation.