Effect of Phytic Acid Etching and Airborne-Particle Abrasion Treatment on the Resin Bond Strength.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the bond strength of a universal adhesive to dentin (μTBS) using different time periods of airborne particle abrasion (APA) and two types of acid etching.

Methods: Seventy-two human third molars were divided into 9 groups (n=8) according to dentin pretreatment: APA duration (0, 5, or 10s) and acid etching (no acid - NA, 37% phosphoric acid - PhoA, or 1% phytic acid - PhyA). APA was performed at a 0.5 cm distance and air pressure of 60 psi using 50 μm aluminum oxide particles. Afterwards, two coats of Single Bond Universal adhesive (3M) were applied to the dentin surface. Composite blocks were built using the incremental technique, sectioned into 1×1 mm slices and subjected to microtensile bond strength (μTBS) testing. Fracture patterns and surface topography of each dentinal pretreatment were evaluated using a Scanning electron microscope (SEM). Bond strength data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc tests.

Results: The group that received pretreatment with 5s APA and PhoA presented higher μTBS values among all groups, which was statistically different when compared with the PhoA, 10APA+PhoA, and 5APA+PhyA groups. PhyA did not significantly influence the bond strength of the air-abraded groups. Finally, adhesive failure was considered the predominant failure in all groups.

Conclusion: Dentin pretreated by airborne particle abrasion using aluminum oxide demonstrated an increase in bond strength when abraded for 5 seconds and conditioned with phosphoric acid in a universal adhesive system.