Despite the improvements of resin-modified glass-ionomer cements, the dentin bond strength of these materials remains inferior to that provided by onding system/composite combinations and limits the clinical use of RMGIC. The objective of this in vitro study was to investigate the effect of new self-etching bonding systems on the adhesion to dentin of Fuji II LC. Seven recent self-etching systems were studied (Clearfil SE Bond = CSE, Optibond Solo Plus Self-Etching Primer = OSP, One Up Bond F = OUP, Mac Bond II = MB2, Xeno III = XB3, ADPER Prompt-L-Pop = ADP, Unifil Bond = UB) and compared with Cavity Conditioner (C). After the bonding procedure, a resin-modified glass-ionomer cylinder (Fuji II LC) was bonded to the surface using a Teflon mold (diameter: 3 mm; height: 5 mm). The different specimens were tested in a shear bond mode (0.5 mm/min). Statistical analyses were performed with one-way ANOVA and Fischer PLSD test (p < 0.05). The one-way ANOVA revealed a significant influence of the surface treatment parameter (p < 0.0001). The lowest shear bond strength values were obtained with Cavity Conditioner. The highest values were obtained with MB2. The multiple comparisons revealed that ADP = OBP = XB3 = OUB = UB = CSE and that UB = CSE = MB2. The application of the 7 self-etching adhesives tested in this study improves the dentin shear bond strengths of Fuji II LC. This increase depended on the adhesive system and ranged from 50% for ADP up to 130% for MB2.

Keywords: resin-modified glass-ionomer cements, self-etching adhesives, shear bond strength