Micro-tensile bond testing of resin cements to dentin and an indirect resin composite

Objectives: Micro-tensile bond strength (μTBS) evaluation and fractographic analysis were used to compare four resin cement systems (AC: All-Bond 2/Choice; RX: Single Bond/RelyX ARC; SB: Super-Bond C&B; and PF: Panavia F) in indirect composite/dentin adhesive joints. Methods: Flat dentin surfaces were created on extracted human third molars. The resin cements were used according to the manufacturers' instructions for bonding silanized composite overlays to deep coronal dentin. 0.9×0.9 composite-dentin beams prepared from the luted specimens were stressed to failure in tension. Dentin sides of all fractured specimens were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to examine the failure modes. In group PF, morphologic features that could not be resolved at the SEM level were further validated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) examination of the SEM specimens. Results: Statistical analyses revealed significant difference (p