Effect of simulated intraoral erosion and/or abrasion effects on etch-and-rinse bonding to enamel

Purpose: To assess the influence of simulated oral erosive/abrasive challenges on the bond strength of an etch-and-rinse two-step bonding system to enamel using an in situ/ex vivo protocol. Methods: Bovine enamel blocks were prepared and randomly assigned to four groups: CONT - control (no challenge), ABR - 3x/day-l minute toothbrushing; ERO - 3x/day - 5 minutes extraoral immersion into regular Coca Cola; and ERO+ABR - erosive protocol followed by a 1-minute toothbrushing. Eight blocks were placed into an acrylic palatal appliance for each volunteer (n=13), who wore the appliance for 5 days. Two blocks were subjected to each of the four challenges. Subsequently, all the blocks were washed with tap water and Adper Single Bond 2/ Filtek Z350 were placed. After 24 hours, 1 mm²-beams were obtained from each block to be tested with the microtensile bond strength test (50 N load at 0.5 mm/minute). The data were statistically analyzed by one-way RM-ANOVA and Tukey's tests (a= 0.05). Results: No difference was detected among the ABR, ERO, and CONT groups (P^> 0.05). ERO+ABR group yielded lower bond strengths than either the ABR and ERO groups (P< 0.0113).