Effect of two aging methods on the bonding interface between glass ceramics and dentin

To study the effects of bacterial invasion and artificial saliva immersion on the bond strength and nanoleakage between healthy dentin and glass ceramics-bonded specimens using three types of resin cements and provide a reference for the selection of clinical bonding materials.

One hundred eight dentin blocks were selected to prepare bonded specimens with Variolink N, Multilink N, RelyX Unicem and glass ceramics blocks. The adhesive specimens of each type of resin cements were divided into three groups according to the aging method: bacterial invasiveness group (the specimens were cultured under anaerobic conditions for 14 days after inoculation with Streptococcus mutans), artificial saliva immersion group (the specimens were immersed in artificial saliva for 6 months), and control group (the immediate test group). Each group comprised 12 specimens: 6 were selected to test the bonding strength, and 6 were observed by scanning field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM).

The bond strength of Variolink N in the immediate test group was significantly higher than that of Multilink N and RelyX Unicem, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). However, no significant difference was found in the bacterial invasiveness group and artificial saliva immersion group (P > 0.05). In the bacterial invasion group, the difference in the nanoleakage of the three adhesives was statistically significant (P < 0.05), with a trend of Variolink N > Multilink N > RelyX Unicem, and pairwise comparison was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The nanoleakage of the three resin adhesives showed an increasing trend in the bacterial invasion group and artificial saliva group compared with that of the immediate test group.

Both artificial saliva soaking and bacterial invasion can reduce the sealing property of the adhesive interface of 3 types of resin cements to different degrees. The presence of Streptococcus mutans in the oral cavity may reduce the sealing performance of the resin dentine adhesive interface.