Preparation of dentinal slices and study groups
This study was approved by the institutional research ethics committee at the Stomatological Hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University, China (Approval No. IRB-REV-2018044). The children’s parents/guardians were informed about the purpose of the study and the inclusion of extracted teeth in the research and provided informed consent.
The present in vitro study was conducted using freshly extracted retained primary molars (n=80) collected during the period of September 2018 to December 2018. Teeth were free from dental caries, defects, or restorations. The extracted primary molars were immediately placed in 0.9% normal saline. The teeth were cleaned of debris, calculus, and pigment using a scraper and ultrasound scalers within 24 hours, and stored in distilled water at 4°C. The teeth were used within 1 month after extraction in accordance with the recommendations of the International Organization for Standardization [9]. The tooth crown was sectioned into 1.5 mm-thick slices using a low-speed cutting machine (SYJ-150, Shenyang Kejing Automation Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd., China) positioned perpendicular to the long axis of the teeth under running water as a coolant. Two middle dentin slices (a radius of 5 mm and a thickness of 1.5 mm) were selected from each tooth (160 in total from 80 teeth). All dentin slices were polished with 800 mesh waterproof abrasive paper, washed with distilled water for 5 minutes, dried, and used in the experiment immediately.
The dentin slices were randomly divided into different groups and subgroups according to the surface treatment applied. The dentin slices in the control group received no further treatment. For the etchant group, the dentin slices were etched for 20 s using 350 g/L phosphoric acid (Gluma, USA) followed by thorough washing with plenty of water for 20 s. The dentin slices in the energy group (variable energy; frequency of 10 Hz) were irradiated using an Er:YAG laser (Fotona, Slovenia) with an R14 handle. The laser was adjusted to the multi-streaming processor (MSP) mode and an optical fiber (diameter 0.6 mm) was applied vertical to the surface of the sample for about 1 mm. This was followed by irradiation using the mesh scanning mode for 10 s at a frequency of 10 Hz and a wavelength of 2940 nm with 60% water, 40% steam, and variable energy (50 mJ, 100 mJ, 150 mJ, 200 mJ, 250 mJ, and 300 mJ). The dentin slices in the frequency group (variable frequency; energy of 100 mJ) were treated with an energy of 100 mJ and variable frequency (5 Hz, 10 Hz, 15 Hz, 20 Hz, 25 Hz, and 30 Hz) (Table 1).
Dental resin composite (Z350, 3M, MN, USA) was filled into cavities, piled into blocks, and cured using a light curing lamp (3M, USA). The cured resin composite block was cut into slices (4 mm x 4 mm x 2 mm) low-speed cutting machine (SYJ-150, Shenyang Kejing Automation Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd., China) and polished in a polishing machine (UNIPOL-830, MTI Corporation, USA) using 400- and 600-grit silicon carbide paper until the resin block surface was bright.
The prepared specimens were examined under a stereomicroscope at 10X (MZ1500 stereomicroscope, Nikon, Japan). Specimens without defects (n=128) were surface-treated with 800 mesh waterproof abrasive paper, washed using distilled water for 5 min, cleaned ultrasonically, and dried. Surface-treated dentin specimens from all groups (Table 1) were bonded to the prepared resin slices using a general resin binder (3M, MN, USA). For this process, each dentin slice was embedded in a self-setting resin block (height: 50 mm, diameter: 20 mm) with the bonding surface of the dentin facing upward, clean from resin and contamination. Afterward, a dentin bonding agent (3M, USA) was applied to the dentin surface. The surface was dried after 30 s and the prepared resin slice was bonded. Excess adhesive was removed carefully and light-curing was performed from the top, left, and right sides of the specimens for 20 s. All bonded specimens were immersed in water for 24 hours before transferring to artificial saliva (Pharmacy Department, Stomatology Hospital, the Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an) in a 37°C water bath (Shanghai Jinghong Experimental Equipment Co., Ltd, China). All specimens were subjected to automatic cold and hot thermos-cycling (ZLR Automatic Cold and Hot Bath Circulator, Morida Test Equipment Co., Ltd., Tianjin) 500 times (5°C cold and 55°C hot and cold water for 30 s respectively, intermittently for 15 s) prior to further evaluation of the bond strength.
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis
In order to observe the effects of various treatments on the dentin surface, two dentin specimens were randomly selected from each group and analyzed with SEM (s-4800 Hitachi, Japan). The treated specimen surfaces were sprayed with gold after the surface morphology was observed.
Shear bond strength testing
The shear strength of the specimens were determined using a universal testing machine (AGS 500, Shimadzu, Japan) (Fig. 1). The testing was performed at room temperature (20 ± 2°C), with the crosshead moving at a constant speed of 1 mm/min. The SBS was calculated as the maximum load value of the specimen at failure divided by the bond area. The bond failure mode was observed under a stereomicroscope (MZ1500 Stereomicroscope, Nikon, Japan).
Statistical Analysis
Data were processed and analyzed statistically using SPSS software (v22.0, IBM, USA). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the count data (x ± s). The Kruskal Wallis test was used to compare the data and the rank sum test was used to measure the data. Statistical tests were set at a significance level of 5%.