Purpose: To evaluate the influence of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solutions used as dentin pretreatments on microtensile bond strength (µTBS), as well as the dentin/restoration interface micromorphology of a universal adhesive in etch-and-rinse or self-etch mode.
Materials and methods: Eighty blocks of dentin were submitted to acid conditioning with 35% phosphoric acid (etch-and-rinse), or not (self-etch), and distributed among the treatments (n = 10): CON: Scotchbond Universal/3M Oral Care; DMSO: pretreatment with DMSO; DMSO/water: pretreatment with DMSO in water (1:1); DMSO/ethanol: pretreatment with DMSO in ethanol (1:1). Microtensile bond strength and failure tests were performed after 24-h and 6-month storage. The tooth-restoration interface was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy to assess the hybrid layer formed.
Results: The interaction between treatments, storage time, and etching modes was not significant for µTBS (p = 0.2469). The DMSO, DMSO/water and DMSO/ethanol pretreatments did not affect µTBS values at either time point (p = 0.8732). Aging decreased µTBS over time only for the etch-and-rinse strategy, although the groups presented higher microtensile bond strengths in etch-and-rinse mode than in self-etch mode at both time points (p < 0.0001). The micromorphological images of the interface showed that different DMSO pretreatment solutions did not impair hybrid layer formation.
Conclusion: The use of dentin pretreatments containing DMSO did not improve the bonding or the micromorphology of a universal adhesive in etch-and-rinse or self-etch modes.
Keywords: aging; ethanol; hybrid layer; micromorphology; microtensile bond strength.