Assessment of Bond Strength of Universal Bonding Agent Following Contamination and Decontamination Procedures, with and without Pre-etching

Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the tensile bond strength (TBS) of contaminated universal adhesive (single-bond universal), following decontamination procedures, i.e., rinsing treatment and acetone treatment, used with and without pre-etching. Materials and methods:The occlusal surfaces of 72 extracted maxillary premolar teeth were ground flat using a diamond disc to expose superficial dentin.Based on the etching mode, teeth were randomly divided into two groups: Group A (n = 36): Pre-etch and group B (n = 36): Self-etch.Both groups were further divided into three sub-groups each: Group A1; B1 (n = 12): No contamination; group A2; B2 (n = 12): Contamination followed by rinsing treatment; group A3; B3 (n = 12): Contamination followed by acetone treatment.After the decontamination and rebonding step, composite microcylinders were bonded onto the surface with the help of a plastic tube.The samples were then subjected to TBS testing in a universal testing machine.The data were statistically analyzed using two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Bonferroni's post hoc analysis (p < 0.05) and an independent t-test.Results: In both the pre-etch and self-etch modes, single-bond universal adhesive yielded lower bond strength values; both decontamination treatments could not restore the bond strength values of the contaminated adhesive to those of the control groups.Conclusion: Contamination of single-bond universal adhesive yielded lower bond strength with the rinsing and acetone decontamination procedures than the uncontaminated adhesive, but resulted in acceptable bond strength.