Effect of bleaching on fracture toughness of composite-dentin bonds

Purpose: The effect of carbamide peroxide concentration and length of exposure on fracture toughness (K-IC) of existing composite-dentin interfaces was assessed using the notchless triangular prism (NTP) specimen K-IC test. Materials and Methods: Freshly extracted human molars and premolars were wet ground on 600-grit SiC to obtain 4 x 4 x 4 x 4 mm triangular prisms, exposing buccal or lingual dentin. Dentin surfaces were bonded using a resin composite (Z-250, 3M) and SingleBond dentin bonding system (3M) to obtain 180 8-mm-long dentin-composite NTP specimens. The bonding system was applied using the "wet-bonding" technique. The bonded specimens were randomly assigned to 20 groups. The effect of exposure to three control solutions (tap water, Carbopol, and Carbopol-urea) and to four concentrations (11%, 13%, 16%, 21%) of carbamide peroxide (Perfecta, Premier) was assessed. Testing was conducted after 1, 2, and 3 weeks representing a cumulative exposure of 14, 42, and 70 h. The maximum force recorded before fracture was used to calculate K-IC. The data were statistically analysed using two-factor ANOVA followed by one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni multiple means comparisons. Selected fractured surfaces were characterized using SEM. Results: Data analysis revealed that cumulative exposure to bleaching agent for 70 h significantly (p < 0.01) decreased the interfacial K-IC, regardless of concentration. For the 16% and 21% concentrations, a significant reduction was observed after 42 h. Conclusion: The results suggest that bleaching could adversely affect the interfacial fracture toughness of dentin-resin composite adhesive interfaces.