Thebehaviorofwater-solublephotoinitiatorswithcrownethersindentaladhesivesisunknown.Thisstudyinvestigatedthe effectofsodiumacylphosphineoxide(APO-Na)withcrownetherinahydrophobicadhesiveonadhesiontoteeth.Sodium 2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl-phenylphosphine oxide (TMPO-Na = APO-Na) was synthesized in 67.1% yield and identified by 1 H NMR. APO-Na was dissolved in hydrophobic resins in the presence of a crown ether (ionophore effect). Thirty kinds of experimentalsingle-stepadhesivescomprisingAPO-Na,CE,Bis-GMA,6-methacryloyloxyhexylphosphonoacetate(6-MHPA), and4-methacryloyloxyethyltrimelliticacid(4-MET)weretherebyprepared.Shearbondstrengthtounetchedgroundteeth wasmeasuredatacrossheadspeedof1.0mm/min,andthedatawereanalyzedbyANOVA.Theshearbondstrengthresults of bonding resins containing APO-Na with 18-crown-6-ether (CE-6) were significantly higher than that without CE-6 (control) (p<0.05).Higherbondstrengthvalues[forenamel:BR24at19.3(3.2)MPa;fordentin:BR29at20.2(4.7)MPa]wereachieved with the adhesives containing APO-Na, CE-6, 6-MHPA, and 4-MET. Therefore, it was found that APO-Na with CE-6 contributed to the efficient bonding performance of single-step adhesive to teeth. However, in view of the biosafety hazard posedbycrownethers,thesearchisstillonforreagentsthatarebiologicallysaferthancrownethers-butwithionophor effects-tobeusedindentaladhesives.