Water-associated attributes in the contemporary dentin bonding milieu.

OBJECTIVES: The water-associated attributes of resin-dentin interfaces created by contemporary adhesives are important determinants of bond integrity and stability. In the present work, these attributes were estimated from the perspectives of causality, to examine the behavior of the first and most-recently launched versions of universal adhesives when applied in either the etch-and-rinse mode or the self-etch mode.

METHODS: The immediate cause of interfacial permeability and the time-dependent cause of water sorption were investigated in conjunction with the intermediate effect of interface degradation and the more long-term effect of loss of mechanical strength, before and after thermomechanical cycling. The results were compared with control etch-and-rinse and self-etch adhesives.

RESULTS: Although the introduction of this new class of universal adhesives has brought forth significant changes to the dental adhesion arena, including more application options, reduced bonding armamentarium and increased user friendliness, the water-associated attributes that are critical for making resin-dentin bonds more durable to environmental challenges and less susceptible to degradation have remained unchanged at large, when compared with benchmarks established by former classes of adhesives.

CONCLUSION: It appears that the current trend of adhesive development has brought forth significant changes but lacks the vigor that demarcates progress and technological sublimity.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The advent of the user friendly universal adhesives has brought forth significant changes to the dental adhesion arena. However, the elements that are critical for making resin-dentin bonds more durable to environmental challenges and less susceptible to degradation have remained unchanged at large.