Background:The rapid developments in the field of adhesive dental materials have led to improvements in many aspects of clinical dentistry. Adhesive bond strength plays an important role in determining the clinical performance and longevity of dental restorations. Nevertheless, bond strength tests have never been well-standardized, although a number of important recommendations have been made.Objective:The aim of this paper is to critically review the validity of different bond strength testing methods for assessment of bonding effectiveness of adhesive materials to tooth structure and discuss factors that may affect bond strength measurement.Data Collection:Relevant literature published between 1983 and 2018 was collected and reviewed from the PubMed database and Google scholar resources.Review Results:Results of the current bond testing methods should be used to compare materials tested under the same laboratory settings, but they shouldn’t be used to make direct inferences on their clinical behaviour. Shear and micro-shear tests, result in non-uniform stress distribution, stress concentration at the substrate area, and predominantly tensile stresses rather than shear stresses. Micro-tensile bond tests provide many advantages over the shear tests, although these methods are technique sensitive and labour intensive.Conclusion:Bond strength testing methods should be well-standardized, but there are many factors that cannot be fully controlled which leads to variation and misinterpretation of the data about the bonding abilities of adhesives.Clinical Significance:New adhesive materials should be subjected to a combination of testing protocols to properly assess their bonding effectiveness.

Objective. Dental esthetic procedures are popular worldwide, and dentists are responsible for recommending several treatment options to their patients. To do this competently, dentists must have an educated opinion of their features. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the self-perception of dental esthetics among male and female dental students and assess its effect on their desired treatment. Methodology. We conducted a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study involving 450 male and female dental students from five academic years with different grade point averages (GPAs) and monthly household incomes. The questionnaire comprised four sections. The subjects selected their teeth-color preferences using a commercial shade guide. The outcomes were presented using descriptive statistics and were compared with Pearson’s chi-square test. The level of statistical significance was set at a p -value of 0.05. Results. Female students (52%) showed a significantly higher preference for changing their tooth color (shade B1 was desired most often), whereas male students reported a higher need for orthodontic treatment and ceramic veneers ( p < 0.0001 and p = 0.002 ). Fifth-year students were more satisfied with their teeth color as compared with 1st-year students ( p = 0.047 ). High-GPA students showed significantly lower confidence regarding their smiles ( p = 0.030 ). A high percentage of students (39.1%) with household incomes of less than 10,000 SR preferred tooth-colored restorations. Conclusion. We concluded that the majority of dental students were confident about their smiles. Senior students were more satisfied with their teeth color, while younger students desired whiter teeth. Bleaching and orthodontics were the most desired treatment options.

The selection of an appropriate treatment plan for cases of dental fluorosis depends on the severity of the condition. Ceramic veneers are considered the treatment of choice for moderate to severe cases of fluorosis given the optimum aesthetics, wear resistance, biocompatibility, and long-term results of these veneers. This case report describes a step-by-step rehabilitation of fluorosed teeth, using ceramic veneers in a 26-year-old Yemeni male. The patient presented at the restorative dentistry clinics at King Saud University complaining of an unpleasant smile and generalized tooth discoloration.

This study aimed to evaluate the shear bond strength of self-adhesive flowable resin composite on both enamel and dentin and investigate whether surface pretreatment with a phosphoric acid etch affects the bond strength. In this in vitro study, 80 sound human premolars were flattened to create (40) uniform enamel (E) and (40) dentin (D) surfaces. Groups were divided according to surface pretreatment: E1 : Scotchbond™ Universal Etchant + Single Bond Universal Adhesive + Filtek™ Z350 XT flowable composite; E2: Single Bond Universal self-etch adhesive + Filtek Z350 XT flowable composite; E3 : Scotchbond Universal Etchant + Fusio Liquid Dentin self-adhesive flowable composite; E4: Fusio Liquid Dentin self-adhesive flowable composite; D1 : Scotchbond Universal Etchant + Single Bond Universal Adhesive + Filtek Z350 XT flowable composite; D2: Single Bond Universal self-etch adhesive + Filtek Z350 XT flowable composite; D3: Scotchbond Universal Etchant + Fusio Liquid Dentin self-adhesive flowable composite; D4: Fusio Liquid Dentin self-adhesive flowable composite. After 2500 thermal cycles, the SBS was measured with a universal testing machine. One-way analysis of variance and Tukey’s test for multiple comparisons were used to compare results. Two-way ANOVA was done to observe the significance of interaction between the type of surface and treatment. The maximum (49.38 ± 1.23 MPa) and minimum (21.41 ± 5.27 MPa) SBS values were noted in groups D1 and E2, respectively. Shear bond test results showed that self-adhesive flowable composite exhibited similar shear bond strengths on enamel and dentin and the bond strength improved with selective acid etching.

Aim:This study aimed to examine the effect of postoperative home bleaching using 20% carbamide peroxide on the shear bond strengths of different adhesives to enamel and to verify the failure mode for each test specimen. Materials and methods:One hundred sound human molars were used in this study. Bonding procedures were performed on the flattened buccal enamel surfaces according to the manufacturer's instructions. OptiBond Solo Plus adhesive (Kerr), Single Bond Universal adhesive (3M ESPE) applied with both the total-etch and self-etch techniques, and Tetric N-Bond Universal adhesive (Ivoclar Vivadent) applied with both the total-etch and self-etch techniques were used, followed by resin composite post fabrication (Filtek Z350 XT; 3M ESPE). All specimens were thermo-cycled for 5000 cycles and then divided into the control (non-bleach) and postoperative bleaching groups (20% carbamide peroxide). The shear bond strength values were measured and compared between the two groups. Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance with Tukey's test (p ≤ 0.05). The failure modes of debonded specimens were evaluated using a digital microscope (50×). The bonding interfaces of the resin composite posts to different enamel conditions (control and postoperative bleaching) were observed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) before the shear bond test. Results:The shear bond strength values of all tested adhesives were lower in the postoperative bleaching group than they were in the control (non-bleach) group, particularly the bond strength values of self-etch adhesives. Conclusion:The stability of bonded resin composite restorations to enamel, using different dental adhesives, could be compromised after the bleaching procedure at varying sensitivity levels.Clinical significance: Replacement of bonded resin composite restorations to enamel might be considered after bleaching procedures, especially if these restorations were previously bonded with self-etch adhesives.