The longevity of resin restorations is currently an area of great interest in adhesive dentistry. However, no work has been conducted to investigate the durability of resin-dentin bond structures using human substrate in vivo. The purpose of this study was to investigate the degradation of the resin-dentin bond structures aged in an oral environment for 1, 2, or 3 years. Cavities were prepared in primary molars, and an adhesive resin system (Scotchbond Multi-Purpose) was applied to the cavity. After 1 to 3 years, following the eruption of the succedaneous permanent teeth, the resin-restored teeth were extracted. Immediately after extraction, those teeth were sectioned perpendicular to the adhesive interface and trimmed to produce an hourglass-shaped specimen. Then, a micro-tensile test was performed at a crosshead speed of 1.0 mm/min. The mean bond strengths were statistically compared with one-way ANOVA and Fisher's PLSD test (p < 0.05). Further, all fractured surfaces were observed by SEM, and the area fraction of failure mode was calculated by means of a digital analyzer on SEM photomicrographs. There were significant differences in tensile-bond strength among all 3 groups (p < 0.05), with mean values ranging from 28.3 +/- 11.3 MPa (control), to 15.2 +/- 4.4 MPa (1 to 2 years), to 9.1 +/- 5.1 MPa (2 to 3 years). Moreover, under fractographic analysis, the proportion of demineralized dentin at the fractured surface in specimens aged in an oral environment was greater than that in control specimens. Furthermore, degradation of resin composite and the depletion of collagen fibrils was observed among the specimens aged in an oral environment. Analysis of the results of this study indicated that the degradation of resin-dentin bond structures occurs after aging in the oral cavity.

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degradation of resin-dentin bonds after 1 year of water storage. Resin-dentin-bonded specimens were prepared with the use of an adhesive resin system (One-Step: Bisco). Half of the experimental specimens were sectioned perpendicular to the adhesive interface to produce a beam (adhesive area: 0.9 mm(2)) before being stored in distilled water at 37 degrees C for 1 year. The remaining half of the bonded specimens were sectioned into beams of similar dimensions after 1 year of water storage. Additional bonded specimens that had been stored in water for 24 h before sectioning into beams were used as controls. The beams in the two experimental groups and the control group were subjected to microtensile bond testing. Fractography was performed on all fractured beams with the use of FE-SEM. There were significant (p <.05) differences in bond strength among the control specimens (55.9 +/- 12.9 MPa), specimens that had been sectioned into beams after water storage (68.9 +/- 18.6 MPa), and specimens that had been sectioned into beams before water storage (28.1 +/- 9.3 MPa). Fractography revealed that the resin material was gradually extracted from the periphery to the center portion of the beam. This probably accounted for the decrease in bond strength after 1 year of water storage.

Recently several long-term studies have reported evidence of the hydrolytic degradation of collagen fibrils based on fractured surface observations after bond testing. Those studies suggested that one cause of the decline in the bond strength was the degradation of the collagen fibrils within the bonds. However, one concern has been raised that the dentinal collagen fibrils may be stable in water that does not contain oral bacteria or enzymes. Therefore, the present study aimed to clarify the micromorphological change in naked collagen fibrils after 500 days of water storage. To prepare exposed collagen fibrils, sectioned and polished human dentin surfaces were acid conditioned for 15 s with the use of two commercially available acid conditioners: All-Etch (10% phosphoric acid) and Uni-Etch (32% phosphoric acid) (Bisco, Inc.). Those specimens were stored in distilled water at 37 degrees C for 1 day (control) for 500 days. After the storage periods, the samples were examined with the use of SEM and TEM. Under SEM and TEM examination, micromorphological alterations (disarrangement of collagen web, widening the interfibrillar space, and the thinning diameter of collagen fibrils) were found in the specimens after 500 days in water.

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