ABSTRACT
Objectives: To evaluate the effects of etch-and-rinse and self-etching adhesive systems
on Vickers hardness (VHN) uniformity of dual-cured resin cements after fiber post
cementation.
Methods: Fifty glass fiber posts were cemented into bovine roots using the following
cementing systems: Prime&Bond 2.1 Dual Cure and Enforce with light-activation (PBDC-LCEN);
Prime&Bond 2.1 and Enforce with light-activation (PB-CLEN); Prime&Bond 2.1 Dual Cure
and Enforce without light exposure (PBDC-SCEN); ED Primer and Panavia 21 (ED-SCPN);
and Clearfil SE Bond and Panavia 21 (CF-SCPN). The roots were stored in distilled
water for 72 h and transversely sectioned into thirds (coronal, medium, and apical).
The VHN values of the resin cement layers were measured close to the post and to the
dentin wall on the transversely sectioned flat surfaces. The results were analyzed
by three-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey’s post-hoc test
(pre-set alpha of 5%).
Results: Most resin cements presented higher VHN values near the post than near the
dentin
wall. The ED-SCPN group showed the highest VHN values regardless of the root third,
while the selfcured
group PBDC-SCEN exhibited the lowest values. The resin cements from the light-activated
groups PBDC-LCEN and PB-LCEN showed lower VHN values at the apical third than at the
coronal
third. The VHN values were not influenced by the root third in self-cured groups PBDC-SCEN,
EDSCPN,
and ED-SCPN.
Conclusions: Depending on the product, bonding agents might promote changes in hardness
uniformity of resin cements after post cementation. (Eur J Dent 2012;6:248-254)
Key words
Resin cements - microhardness - fiber-glass posts
