A Comparison of the Tensile Bond Strengths of Composite Resins to Longitudinal and Transverse Sections of Enamel Prisms in Human Teeth

The tensile bond strengths of composite resins to transverse and longitudinal sections of enamel prisms etched with phosphoric acid were examined. The tensile bond strengths were 18-19 MPa to the transverse and 10-11 MPa to the longitudinal sections and thus were influenced by the nature of the enamel crystal planes. These facts suggest that composite resin restorations will have a longer life span if the enamel walls are given marginal forms to produce transverse rather than longitudinal sections of enamel prisms.