Objective: This controlled clinical trial evaluated the 5-year clinical performance of a self-etching primer system including selective enamel-etching with phosphoric acid and a one-bottle adhesive system.
Methods: Seventy-two non-carious cervical lesions in 8 patients (4 male and 4 female) with a mean age of 61.3 years (range 45-78) participated in the study. An enamel bevel was placed and dentin lightly ground, and cavities restored with clearfil liner bond II (LB) or single bond (SB) in conjunction with a hybrid resin composite (Clearfil AP-X). In the case of 27 cavities for LB, the enamel was pretreated with 37% phosphoric acid for 10 s. Each patient received both types of restoration, which were distributed on a random basis. All restorations (37 restorations for LB and 35 restorations for SB) were placed by one dentist. The restorations were evaluated blind after 5 years using modified USPHS criteria. The data were statistically analyzed using the Fisher's exact test.
Results: All but one restoration (which was replaced by a crown after the 2-year recall) were evaluated after 5 years. 100% retention rates were recorded for both restorative groups. No caries was detected in association with any restorations. The only minor problem was marginal discoloration; superficial and localized marginal discoloration occurred around 18% of the restorations, and mainly at the dentin margin. There were no significant differences in the marginal integrity between the LB and SB groups.
Conclusions: Restorative materials used in this study demonstrated a good clinical effectiveness in the restoration of non-carious cervical lesions for 5 years.