In vitro bonding performance of self-etch adhesives: II-Ultramorphological evaluation

Objective: To study the interfacial ultra-morphology formed by "all-in-one" self-etch adhesives. Methods: Forty-nine extracted molars were assigned to one of five all-in-one adhesives: Adper Prompt L-Pop (AP, 3M ESPE); Clearfil S³ Bond (S3, Kuraray); G-Bond (GB, GC America); iBond (iB, Heraeus Kulzer) and Xeno IV (XE, Dentsply Caulk). Adper Single Bond Plus (SB, 3M ESPE), a two-step etch&rinse adhesive, and Clearfil SE Bond (SE, Kuraray), a two-step self-etch adhesive, were used as controls. Dentin, unground enamel and ground enamel were used as bonding substrates. Dentin specimens were processed for FESEM and TEM analyses. Enamel specimens were processed for FESEM. Results: Dentin: GB, iB, S3, SE and XE resulted in a submicron-thick hybrid layer (0.2-0.7 μm), but only S3 and SE did not result in interfacial gaps. AP resulted in the thickest hybrid layer (1.7-2.9 μm) among the self-etch adhesives. SB resulted in a 3.4-5.2 μm thick hybrid layer. Unground enamel - GB, iB and SE resulted in a mostly featureless morphology resembling that of untreated enamel with areas in which the superficial enamel layer was removed without dissolving the subsurface enamel. XE resulted in areas of intra-prismatic etching and areas without any etching pattern. S3 resulted in frequent shallow intra-prismatic etching, while AP was able to unveil the enamel crystallites across the entire enamel surface. Phosphoric acid in SB resulted in the deepest intra- and inter-prismatic demineralization. Ground enamel - AP resulted in a well-defined inter-prismatic etching pattern. iB, GB, SE and S3 resulted in islands of superficially dissolved enamel within areas without evidence of enamel dissolution. XE resulted in etched enamel areas with mild intraprismatic exposure of crystallites. Phosphoric acid in SB resulted in deep enamel etching. Conclusions: Only AP, an aggressive self-etch adhesive, showed enamel morphological features that resemble those created by etch&rinse adhesives. S3 and SE were the only self-etch adhesives that did not result in dentin interfacial debonding.