SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE Australian Dental Journal 2006;51:(2):162-169 Resin adhesion to caries-affected dentine after different removal methods V Sattabanasuk,* MF Burrow,† Y Shimada,‡ J Tagami,‡ Abstract Background: Caries-affected dentine is the common bonding substrate when treating a patient. At present, there are many methods used for caries removal. The aim of this study was to evaluate the microtensile bond strength of two adhesives (Clearfil Protect Bond and OptiBond Solo Plus Total-Etch) to caries-affected dentine after three different caries removal methods. Methods: Extracted carious human third molars were used and caries-affected dentine surfaces were obtained from one of the three removal methods: (i) round steel bur in a slow-speed handpiece; (ii) Er:YAG laser; or (iii) 600-grit silicon carbide abrasive paper. Each of the adhesives was used to bond resin composite to the caries-affected dentine according to the manufacturers’ instructions. Hourglass-shaped specimens were prepared and stressed in tension at 1mm/min. Data were analysed using two-way analysis of variance and least significant difference test. Results: Clearfil Protect Bond showed significantly lower bond strength than OptiBond Solo Plus TotalEtch after caries removal with round steel bur, but the opposite was found for specimens treated with silicon carbide abrasive paper. For laser-treated dentine, no significant differences between the adhesives were revealed. Conclusions: Besides the differences in adhesives, different caries removal methods seem to influence resin adhesion to caries-affected dentine. Key words: Bond strength, caries-affected dentine, smear layer. Abbreviations and acronyms: Er:YAG = erbiumdoped:yttrium-aluminium-garnet; LSD = least significant difference; SEM = scanning electronic microscopic; SiC = silicon carbide. (Accepted for publication 8 July 2005.) *Department of Conservative Dentistry and Prosthodontics, Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand. †School of Dental Science, The University of Melbourne, Victoria. ‡Cariology and Operative Dentistry, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan. 162 INTRODUCTION The philosophy of caries removal and cavity preparation has changed greatly in the last decade. With the advent of effective adhesive systems and the subsequent developments in minimal cavity design, changes in the concepts of surgical removal of diseased tooth now aim at conserving as much of the tooth as possible.1 It is desirable that only the bacterialcontaminated, denatured, caries-infected dentine should be completely removed, leaving the cariesaffected dentine which can be remineralized in a vital tooth following restoration.1 The methods that are currently available to remove carious dentine include mechanical rotary and non-rotary techniques.2,3 Conventional techniques, comprising rotary instrumentation and dental burs, are routinely used in clinical practice and very useful for removal of caries. Recently, the use of lasers for dental applications as an alternative to rotary instrumentation has been proposed. The erbium-doped:yttriumaluminium-garnet (Er:YAG) laser has been reported to be a promising technique for dental treatment, including surgical ablation of diseased tooth structure.4-7 Under scanning electron microscopic observation, previous studies have shown that these two caries removal techniques resulted in different caries-affected dentine surfaces. Laser-treated dentine surfaces exhibited patent dentinal tubules without smear layer production,5,6 whereas a prominent smear layer with dentinal tubule occlusion occurred after the use of a round steel bur.8 The differences in surface characteristics of dentine after caries removal might be a factor that influences the bonding of adhesive resins. Several laboratory studies have been performed using silicon carbide abrasive paper for preparing the cariesaffected dentine.9-11 Oliveira et al.12 demonstrated that a dentine surface prepared using 600-grit silicon carbide abrasive paper was covered with a relatively thin smear layer, which was easily removed prior to the application of bonding resin. The thin smear layer was suspected to have influenced the resin bonding to caries-affected dentine and contributed to a favourable outcome, especially for the self-etch system.11 To investigate whether the differences in the various caries removal Australian Dental Journal 2006;51:2. methods could influence the adhesion to caries-affected dentine, microtensile bond strengths and bonded interface structures of two adhesives, a self-etch system and an etch-and-rinse system, were evaluated. The hypotheses proposed were, firstly, adhesive resins bond equally well to caries-affected dentine, irrespective of the removal method. Secondly, there is no difference in bond strengths between the adhesive resins bonded to caries-affected dentine. MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty extracted human third molars with occlusal carious lesions extending approximately half-way between the enamel-dentine junction and pulp chamber were collected and used within approximately six months of extraction. The teeth were obtained from the patients who required an extraction as a routine part of their treatment. Tissue remnants were removed and the teeth were stored at 4°C in saline solution containing a few crystals of thymol until used. Specimen preparation The caries lesion was exposed by removing the occlusal enamel and superficial dentine using a slowspeed diamond saw (Isomet; Buehler, Lake Bluff, Illinois, USA) under water lubrication. The teeth were randomly allocated to three groups according to the three different caries removal methods. In the first group, the carious tissue was mechanically removed using a round carbon-steel bur (ISO #310 204 018; Hager & Meisinger, Neuss, Germany) mounted in a contra-angle slow-speed handpiece with air as the coolant.13 For the laser-treated group, an Er:YAG laser (Elfine 400; Osada Electric, Tokyo, Japan) was used with water cooling. An output energy of 180mJ was used to treat the caries lesion with a repetition pulse rate of 2Hz. These parameters were reported to be safe in a clinical study showing the risk of thermal damage to the tooth was very low.7 The laser beam was delivered perpendicularly to the dentine surface in a non-contact irradiation mode. For the last group, grinding was performed using wet 600-grit silicon carbide (SiC) abrasive paper on a table-top polishing machine (Ecomet 4; Buehler, Lake Bluff, Illinois, USA) to remove the infected carious dentine. Fig 1. Schematic illustration of specimen preparation procedures. Carious tissue was excavated using one of the three methods and guided by the combined criteria of visual inspection and numerical values from a laser fluorescence device (DIAGNOdent; KaVo Dental, Biberach, Germany) until they decreased to approximately 20.14,15 This resulted in an apparently hard caries-affected dentine surface and slight discolouration of the dentine observed in all specimens (Fig 1). After preparation, the teeth were rinsed with distilled water for 30 seconds. The exposed dentine surfaces were bonded with one of the adhesives listed in Table 1. Each of the adhesives was used according to the manufacturers’ instructions. A block of resin composite (Clearfil AP-X; Kuraray Medical, Okayama, Table 1. Materials, manufacturers, batch numbers, system compositions and bonding procedures Material Batch number Compositions Procedures Clearfil Protect Bond (Kuraray Medical, Okayama, Japan) Primer: 00004A MDP, MDPB, HEMA, hydrophilic dimethacrylate, water MDP, Bis-GMA, HEMA, hydrophobic dimethacrylate, photoinitiator, silanated colloidal silica, surface treated NaF 37.5% phosphoric acid, water, silica thickener, dye colourant Bis-GMA, GDM, GPDM, HEMA, ethanol, barium glass, sodium hexafluorosilicate Apply 20s; air dry OptiBond Solo Plus Total-Etch (Kerr, Orange, California, USA) Bond liquid: 00008A Etchant: 204742 Bond liquid: 209467 Apply and air thin; light cure 10s Etch 15s; rinse 15s; blot with damp lint-free paper, leaving the surface visibly moist Apply 15s with light brushing motion; air thin; light cure 20s Bis-GMA = bis-phenol A diglycidylmethacrylate; GDM = glycerol dimethacrylate; GPDM = glycerophosphate dimethacrylate; HEMA = 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate; MDP = 10-methacryloyloxydecyl dihydrogen phosphate, MDPB = 12-methacryloyloxydodecylpyridinium bromide. Australian Dental Journal 2006;51:2. 163 Table 2. Comparison of mean microtensile bond strengths±SD (MPa; n=10) Removal method Steel round bur Er:YAG laser 600-grit SiC paper Adhesive Clearfil Protect Bond OptiBond Solo Plus Total-Etch 12.2±3.1a,c 32.5±7.1a,c 35.4±9.7a,c 21.3±7.5b,c 26.6±9.4b,c 25.7±5.9b,c Mean values identified with the same superscript letters are not statistically different (p>0.05). Japan) was built up on the treated surface in three 1mm-in-thick increments, with each increment light cured for 40 seconds. Light-curing was done using a quartz-tungsten halogen curing unit (Candelux; Morita, Tokyo, Japan) with a light output not less than 550mW/cm2. The teeth were marked so as to locate the bonded caries-affected dentine site, so that when the teeth were sectioned for specimen production for microtensile bond test, cuts could be made to include the lesion, and then stored in distilled water at 37°C for 24 hours (Fig 1). Bond strength testing After storage, the teeth were sliced into slabs, approximately 0.7mm thick, using a slow-speed diamond saw under water cooling. One to three slabs containing bonded caries-affected dentine specimens were obtained from each tooth depending on the size of caries lesion. The slabs of bonded caries-affected dentine were trimmed to form a gentle curve with the narrowest portion located along the adhesive interface using a cylindrical superfine-grit diamond bur (SF114: ISO #158 504 013; Shofu Inc., Kyoto, Japan) in highspeed handpiece. The resultant hourglass-shaped specimens had an average rectangular cross-sectional area of 0.50±0.04mm2 at the bonded interface. Ten specimens were obtained for each group. Specimens were attached to the testing apparatus with a cyanoacrylate glue (Zapit; DVA, Corona, California, USA). A tensile stress was applied with a universal testing machine (EZTest; Shimadzu Co., Kyoto, Japan) at a crosshead speed of 1mm/min (Fig 1). The maximum stress at failure was recorded and converted to MPa. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) evaluations After bond strength testing, the fracture surfaces of all specimens were sputter-coated with gold and examined using a SEM (JSM-5310LV; JEOL, Tokyo, Japan) to determine the mode of failure. The SEM pictures were transferred to the computer, and the surface areas of different modes of failure (adhesive failure, cohesive failure in dentine, and cohesive failure in resin) were identified and measured using image analysing software (SemAfore; JEOL Skandinaviska, Sollentuna, Sweden). An additional six teeth were prepared for SEM observations. The caries-affected dentine was prepared as previously described. To observe the etching characteristics of these dentine surfaces, the acidic primer of Clearfil Protect Bond or phosphoric acid of 164 OptiBond Solo Plus Total-Etch was applied to the surface as recommended by the manufacturer. After each application time, the monomer components of the acidic primer were removed by rinsing the specimens with ethanol for five minutes and placed in distilled water for a further five minutes,16 whereas the phosphoric acid gel was flushed with water for 15 seconds. The specimens were fixed in 10 per cent neutral buffered formalin for 24 hours and washed in running water for 15 minutes, then dehydrated in ascending concentrations of ethanol and water up to 90 per cent ethanol and placed in 100 per cent ethanol three times, for 20 minutes each. The dehydrated specimens were immersed in hexamethyldisilazane solution for 30 minutes, placed on a filter paper inside a covered glass vial, and dried at room temperature.17 The specimens were gold sputter-coated and observed using SEM. For the observation of resin-dentine interface, the bonded teeth were prepared as for the bond strength measurement. After overnight storage in 37°C distilled water, a shallow groove was prepared using diamond disc in a slow-speed handpiece under copious water across the surface of resin composite and on the dentine side over the area where the bonded caries-affected dentine was located. The specimens were fixed and dehydrated as described above, then fractured along the prepared groove.18 The fractured specimens were sputter-coated with gold and observed using SEM. Statistical analysis The mean and standard deviation of the tensile bond strength were calculated for each group. The data were analysed by two-way analysis of variance and least significant difference (LSD) test at the 95 per cent level of confidence. The chi-square test was used to analyse the non-parametric failure mode data. All statistical analyses were processed using the statistical software system (SPSS 11.0 for Windows; SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA). RESULTS The results for the bond test are summarized in Table 2. For Clearfil Protect Bond, the highest bond strength was achieved after caries removal with 600-grit SiC paper. This value was statistically higher than the group bonded with OptiBond Solo Plus Total-Etch using the same removal method (p=0.006), but not different from that with laser-treated dentine bonded with the same adhesive (p=0.386). The lowest value Australian Dental Journal 2006;51:2. Table 3. Results of failure modes as a percentage of the total bonding area (n=10) Clearfil Protect Bond Removal method Steel round bur Er:YAG laser 600-grit SiC paper Adhesive failure 39 21 8 OptiBond Solo Plus Total-Etch Cohesive failure Dentine Resin 32 29 49 29 50 43 Adhesive failure 16 22 10 Cohesive failure Dentine Resin 5 21 19 79 57 71 No statistically significant differences were observed among the groups (p>0.05). was obtained after caries removal with a round steel bur. Significant differences were determined both for caries removal methods (p<0.001) and between the adhesives (p=0.009). For OptiBond Solo Plus Total-Etch, statistical analyses failed to show significant differences between bond strengths derived from any of the caries removal methods (p>0.05). Among the caries removal methods, statistical similarity of bond strengths between adhesive materials was noted only for the laser-treated group (p=0.084). Table 3 presents the failure mode patterns as a percentage of the total bonding area. No statistically significant differences were observed among the tested groups (p>0.05). However, on closer inspection, there was a slight decrease in the areas of adhesive failure for OptiBond Solo Plus Total-Etch compared with Clearfil Protect Bond after caries removal with a round steel bur. SEM observations revealed that the acidic primer of Clearfil Protect Bond could not effectively condition the dentine surface after caries removal with the round Fig 2. SEM photographs of specimens after caries removal with steel round bur. (A) Acidic primer treated dentine surface. There is still residual smear layer on the dentine surface with dentinal tubules remaining occluded with smear plugs. (B) Resin-dentine interface created by Clearfil Protect Bond. Poor adaptation to the underlying dentine with gap formation is observed along the bonded interface (pointers). No clearly visible hybrid layer can be detected. (C) Phosphoric acid treated dentine surface. The smear layer on the dentine surface and smear plugs in the dentinal tubules are partially removed. Exposed collagen fibril network can be noticed in some areas. (D) Resin-dentine interface created by OptiBond Solo Plus Total-Etch. The fractured specimen shows the resin-infiltrated zone, approximately 5µm thick (arrows), with numerous porosities being observed. Australian Dental Journal 2006;51:2. 165 Fig 3. SEM photographs of specimens after caries removal with Er:YAG laser. (A) Acidic primer treated dentine surface. The surface is generally free of smear layer, accompanied by open dentinal tubules. Micro-irregularities and micro-cracks are observed throughout the surface. (B) Resin-dentine interface created by Clearfil Protect Bond. Good adaptation of the bonding resin to the underlying dentine is apparent. No clear hybrid layer is observed. The bonding resin has penetrated into the microfissures (arrowheads). Mineral crystals in the dentinal tubules are fixed with the infiltration of bonding resin (pointer). (C) Phosphoric acid treated dentine surface. Lack of smear layer with open dentinal tubules is also observed. The intertubular dentine and peritubular dentine seem to be slightly etched with the phosphoric acid. (D) Resin-dentine interface created by OptiBond Solo Plus Total-Etch. The bonding resin has adapted well to the conditioned dentine surface, and there is no clearly distinguishable hybrid layer. steel bur. A thicker smear layer remained on the dentine surface and smear plugs in the dentinal tubules were still clearly observed (Fig 2A). No clear hybrid layer was detected in the fractured specimen (Fig 2B). In contrast, phosphoric acid used on OptiBond Solo Plus Total-Etch could better remove the smear layer and plugs, but not completely (Fig 2C). The fractured specimen exhibited a resin-infiltrated zone approximately 5µm thick but the penetration of resin was not complete. Numerous porosities could be seen throughout the resin-infiltrated zone (Fig 2D). For laser-treated specimens, after the application of both acid conditioners, all the surfaces were free of smear layer and the dentinal tubules were open. Peritubular dentine was more conspicuous than intertubular dentine. Micro-cracks were clearly observed throughout the surface (Figs 3A and 3C). The intertubular dentine and peritubular dentine seemed to be more etched with the use of phosphoric acid (Fig 3C). Both 166 adhesives showed good adaptation to the underlying dentine. No distinguishable hybrid layers were observed in the fractured specimens (Figs 3B and 3D). For caries-affected dentine exposed using SiC paper, the collagen fibril network of intertubular dentine was clearly perceived after the application of both acidic primer and phosphoric acid. The acidic primer of Clearfil Protect Bond could effectively dissolve the smear layer on the dentine surface, partially exposing the collagen fibril network, but leaving residual smear plugs within the dentinal tubules (Fig 4A). The fractured specimen showed intimate contact between the bonding resin and dentine, with approximately 1µm-thick of hybrid layer was discerned (Fig 4B). With the use of phosphoric acid, the smear layer on the dentine surface and smear plugs in the dentinal tubules were completely removed (Fig 4C). The thickness of the resin-infiltrated zone was approximately 5µm (Fig 4D). Australian Dental Journal 2006;51:2. Fig 4. SEM photographs of specimens after caries removal with silicon carbide abrasive paper. (A) Acidic primer treated dentine surface. The smear layer on the dentine surface is removed, but there are still remnants of smear plugs within the dentinal tubules. (B) Resin-dentine interface created by Clearfil Protect Bond. The fractured specimen shows intimate contact between adhesive resin and dentine. The resininfiltrated zone is about 1µm thick (arrows). (C) Phosphoric acid treated dentine surface. Both smear layer and smear plugs are completely removed, showing patent dentinal tubules with peritubular collagen fibril network and intertubular microporosities. (D) Resin-dentine interface created by OptiBond Solo Plus Total-Etch. The resin-infiltrated zone is approximately 5µm thick (arrows). Minute porosities occur throughout the resin-infiltrated zone. The lumen of dentinal tubule is occupied by mineral crystals that interfere with the penetration of bonding resin (pointer). DISCUSSION Most laboratory bonding studies prepare the dentine surfaces with a 600-grit SiC paper,9-11 whereas this preparation technique could not be practical clinically. However, the use of SiC paper creates a uniform surface and smear layer that does not closely resemble those created under clinical situations. As noted, a dentine surface prepared with SiC paper is covered with a relatively thin and loose smear layer.12 Therefore, resin adhesion is unlikely to be affected by the presence of this smear layer. In the present study, highest bond strengths were achieved after caries removal with SiC paper compared with the other methods. However, the presence of acid-resistant mineral crystals in the tubules of caries-affected dentine has been reported to prevent the accomplishment of resin tag formation.9-11 The use of an etch-and-rinse adhesive system or the additional utilization of phosphoric acid prior to the application of bonding resin was claimed to solve this problem by Australian Dental Journal 2006;51:2. effectively removing the mineral deposits in the dentinal tubules.9-11 Surprisingly, the result of this study demonstrated that, after caries removal with SiC paper, the self-etch adhesive presented significantly higher bond strengths than the etch-and-rinse adhesive. The reason for this result is unclear, although it has been stated that there is the possibility that there could be some chemical bonding to the calcium at the tooth surface when the self-etch adhesive is used.19 It would appear that phosphoric acid was unable to completely remove all mineral crystals precipitated in the dentinal tubules, hence the formation of resin tags might still be impeded or poorly formed and thus not helpful in the resin adhesion. The 37.5 per cent phosphoric acid supplied with OptiBond Solo Plus Total-Etch has been demonstrated to produce one of the deepest levels of dentine demineralization.20 The employment of this aggressive conditioner might cause over-etching because the caries-affected intertubular dentine already 167 has a reduced mineral content that may lead to incomplete infiltration of the bonding resin. In contrast to the caries removal with SiC paper, caries-affected dentine exposed using the round steel bur was covered with a rather dense and thick smear layer, with dentinal tubules being occluded by dense smear plugs.8 In this study, the SiC paper on the polishing machine used a speed of 50rpm with water lubrication but, during bur preparation, air was used instead of water as the coolant in order to permit adequate vision of the area being operated on.13 Therefore, heat generated and speed of the rotary instrument may have caused the compaction of dentine debris over the surface and into the dentinal tubules that probably is not easily removed. The mild acidic primer of Clearfil Protect Bond seemed too weak to etch through this smear layer, hence there was little penetration of resin beyond the smear layer into the underlying dentine matrix to form a resin-infiltrated zone, resulting in the low bond strength. The use of phosphoric acid was better able to remove the smear layer and smear plugs. Even though residual dentine debris was observed, exposure of the collagen fibril network was evident in some areas and was likely to facilitate the infiltration of bonding resin. Higher bond strengths and a decreased tendency of adhesive failure after testing were observed for the specimens bonded with OptiBond Solo Plus Total-Etch. It has been accepted that a dentine surface treated with Er:YAG laser is generally free of smear layer, thus eliminating any hindrance to the adhesion.5,6 However, the superficial layer of laser-treated dentine, approximately 5µm thick, was transformed to a zone where the collagen fibrils were completely melted and/or vapourized.5,6 This feature has been claimed to interfere with resin adhesion if the laser-treated dentine surface was not conditioned prior to the application of a bonding resin.6 The use of either acidic primer or phosphoric acid seemed capable of removing this surface laser-modified layer. Furthermore, regarding the dentine surface topography after irradiation, the Er:YAG laser increases the free surface energy and surface roughness21 that may affect the degree of mechanical anchorage, as the bonding resin could infiltrate into the micro-irregularities in the lasertreated dentine. These micro-irregularities have been reported to occur due to the thermomechanical ablation process of the Er:YAG laser that causes the micro-explosions in areas of high water concentrations and on the hydrated part of hydroxyapatite.6 With respect to SEM observations, the resin-infiltrated zones were difficult to distinguish, which is in agreement with previous studies.5,22 The extent of laser treatment has also been reported to extend deeply into the subsurface intertubular dentine in which the collagen fibrils were most likely denatured by the heat generated.6 These partially denatured collagen fibrils could not be easily removed by etching agents and might affect the resin infiltration.6 This provides one explanation as to why 168 the resin-infiltrated zone could not be observed in the laser-treated specimens. One limitation of this study was the diagnostic methods used for caries detection that combined visual inspection and measurements with a DIAGNOdent. Even though the laser fluorescence device has been shown to provide high validity for fissure caries detection,14,15 application for the detection of residual caries during excavation is still unclear.15 The use of other methods to determine the extent of remaining carious dentine may have provided greater validation for this study. However, the application of a cariesdetecting liquid to laser-treated dentine requires some caution. Laser irradiation results in some denaturing of the superficial dentine that has been reported to stain pink, even after all the caries-affected dentine has been removed.5 This would probably lead to a false positive diagnosis and, subsequently, to overtreatment and overcutting of the dentine. Further studies evaluating the extent of caries removal with Er:YAG laser by the use of caries-detecting solution are needed. Within the limitations of this laboratory study, both null hypotheses were disproved. For the first hypothesis, a similarity in bond strengths among three caries removal methods was determined only for the cariesaffected dentine bonded with OptiBond Solo Plus Total-Etch. Clearfil Protect Bond showed significantly lower bond strength after caries removal with round steel bur compared with other two removal methods. For the second hypothesis, only the caries-affected dentine exposed using Er:YAG laser showed statistically similar bond strengths between the two adhesives. OptiBond Solo Plus Total-Etch showed significantly higher bond strengths than Clearfil Protect Bond after caries was removed with the round steel bur. However, the opposite was found for specimens treated with SiC paper. It would seem that, besides the differences in adhesives used, the differences in caries removal methods could influence the bonding of resins. The smear layer and smear plugs left following caries removal methods might contribute to the success or otherwise of resin adhesion to caries-affected dentine. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This work was funded by a grant from the Centre of Excellence Program for Frontier Research on Molecular Destruction and Reconstruction of Tooth and Bone at Tokyo Medical and Dental University. REFERENCES 1. Massler M. Changing concepts in the treatment of carious lesions. Br Dent J 1967;123:547-548. 2. Yip HK, Samaranayake LP. Caries removal techniques and instrumentation: a review. Clin Oral Investig 1998;2:148-154. 3. Banerjee A, Watson TF, Kidd EA. Dentine caries excavation: a review of current clinical techniques. Br Dent J 2000;188:476482. 4. Matsumoto K, Nakamura Y, Mazeki K, Kimura Y. Clinical dental application of Er:YAG laser for Class V cavity preparation. J Clin Laser Med Surg 1996;14:123-127. Australian Dental Journal 2006;51:2. 5. Aoki A, Ishikawa I, Yamada T, et al. 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SEM evaluation of the interaction pattern between dentin and resin after cavity preparation using ER:YAG laser. J Dent 2003;31:127-135. Address for correspondence/reprints: Dr Vanthana Sattabanasuk Department of Conservative Dentistry and Prosthodontics Faculty of Dentistry Srinakharinwirot University Sukhumvit 23, Wattana Bangkok, Thailand Email: mengvanthana@hotmail.com 169