Investigations of the repair of composites have shown that bond strengths can be significantly reduced at an interface involving an aged composite. Brackets placed by some indirect bonding techniques also have an interface involving an aged composite. This study investigated some of the properties of sealant-composite interfaces and parameters affecting these properties independent of other regions and interfaces found in the total enamel-sealant-composite-bracket system using a shear bond-strength test and fractographic analysis. The effects of various pretreatments of 7-day-old composite surfaces on the bond strength and contact angle of a mixed sealant on these pretreated surfaces were determined. Fractured specimens with adhesive failure closest to the point of force application had low bond strengths (17.62 MPa), which could be correlated with surface pretreatment. Preliminary tests showed that acetone pretreatment produced the most consistently strong interfaces with the fewest adhesive failures of this type. Specimens with adhesive failure only in other regions had higher bond strengths (23.41 MPa), which showed no dependence on pretreatment. There was no statistical relationship between contact angle and bond strength. The data coupled with fracture path analysis suggest that: first, the critical region for fracture analysis is that part of the adhesive interface which is closest to the point of force application; second, failure during some dental shear bond strength tests probably occurs as a consequence of tensile stress induced by a bending moment rather than by shear stress; and third, specifying bond strength as breaking load/area may be incorrect.

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