The influence of air temperature for solvent evaporation on bonding of self-etch adhesives to dentin.

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the effect of air temperature (warm or cold) for solvent evaporation on bonding and nanoleakage of self-etching adhesives to dentin. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The adhesives Clearfil 3S Bond [S3], OptiBond All-In-One [OB], Adper SE Plus [AD], and Silorane adhesive [SI] were applied on dentin surfaces, and a warm (60 ± 2°C) or cold air (20 ± 1°C) was applied and light-cured. After water storage (24 h), the teeth were sectioned into sticks (0.8 mm(2)) and tested in tensile. Then, they were immersed in a 50% solution of silver nitrate, photo-developed and the nanoleakage observed in a scanning electron microscope. The bond strength and nanoleakage pattern were analyzed by two-way analysis of variance and post hoc Tukey's test (α =0.05). RESULTS: Higher bond strength and lower silver nitrate uptake were observed for the adhesives under warm condition (P < 0.05). AD and SI showed better adhesive results than S3 and OB (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The use of a warm air was useful to improve the bonding and diminish the nanoleakage of adhesive systems to dentin.