Comparison of the interdiffusion of four self-etching adhesives in resin-aged glass-fiber-reinforced composites

Objective To observe the permeability of four kinds of self-etching adhesives in aged glass-fiber-reinforced composite (GFRC). Methods After light polymerization following the manufacturers’ instructions, a total of 80 pieces of bisphenol-A-glycodal-methacrylate (Bis-GMA)+ polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) based GFRC were randomly divided into two main groups: test group and control group, each group was then divided into four subgroups with 10 samples for each subgroup. While the test group was conducted to be aged through thermocycling at 5 ℃/55 ℃, the control group remained fresh. After the addition of a fluorescent dye (rhodamine-B-isothiocyanate), four self-etching adhesives AdperEasy One (AEO), S 3 BOND (S 3B), Tetric N-Bond Self-Etch (TNB), G-Bond (GB) were correspondently applied to the test and control groups and were light polymerized. Specimens were sectioned using hard tissue cutting and grinding system. Slices from each subgroup were observed under a confocal laser scanning microscope, the depth of dye permeation (DDP) under the surface of GFRC in each group was measured and the Results were statistically analyzed. Results The DDP of AEO was the deepest (32.58 ± 6.06) μm, and that of TNB was the shallowest (6.19 ± 1.38)μm among the four self-etching adhesive subgroups in the control group. The order of each group was AEO > GB > S 3B > TNB. The DDP of the four subgroups in the test group was significantly shallower than that in the control group (P < 0.05). The change in GB was the greatest (9.05 ± 2.35)μm/(28.93 ± 5.32)μm. In the test group, the DDP in AEO was the deepest (28.42 ± 5.32)μm, and the DDP in TNB was shallowest (1.93 ± 0.22)μm again. The order of each group was AEO > S 3B > GB > TNB. In the test group, while the layer of fluorescent dye of AEO and S 3 B could still be seen distinctly, that of TNB and GB was hard to recognize. Conclusion The self-etching adhesives of AEO and S 3 B still have good permeation effect in this kind of aged GFRC, which can help to establish a good bond between these aged GFRC and the subsequent repair of composite resin.