Purpose: To summarize research conducted on self-adhesive cements and provide information on their properties, based on the results of original scientific full-length papers from peer-reviewed journals listed in PubMed.
Materials and methods: The search was conducted using the term "self-adhesive cement OR (trade names of currently available products)".
Results: Only in vitro studies that investigated two commercially available self-adhesive cements have been published so far. The results were summarized into the following categories: adhesion to tooth substrates (enamel, dentin, root dentin), adhesion to restorative materials (endodontic posts, ceramics, titanium abutments), marginal adaptation, microleakage, mechanical properties, biocompatibility, chemical adhesion and fluoride release, and ratings in clinical use.
Conclusion: The majority of available literature data is based on studies that investigated one of the self-adhesive cements that are currently available to clinicians. According to the in vitro results, self-adhesive cement adhesion to dentin and various restorative materials is satisfactory and comparable to other multistep resin cements, while adhesion to enamel appears to be a weak link in their bonding properties. Long-term clinical performance of these materials needs to be assessed prior to making a general recommendation for their use.