This study aimed to assess the impact of sulfinate salt (sulfinate agent, SA) on the bond performance of a two-step self-etch adhesive (2-SEA) to intracoronally bleached pulpal dentin. Bovine teeth subjected to intracoronal bleaching were treated with or without SA (Clearfil DC Activator) prior to the application of 2-SEA (Clearfil SE Bond 2), while unbleached teeth served as the control group (n = 5 teeth per group). The study evaluated microtensile bond strength (µTBS) after 24 hours of storage and thermocycling (TC), degree of conversion (DC) using Raman spectroscopy (n = 3 teeth), ultrastructural analysis of the resin-dentin interface (n = 3), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations of the bleached pulp chamber dentin surface (n = 3).
Data analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA, Tukey’s post-hoc test, and paired t-tests. Results showed that the application of SA significantly increased the initial µTBS to bleached pulp chamber dentin surfaces, from 34.7 ± 4.5 MPa to 50.6 ± 5.2 MPa (p < 0.001). The bond durability post-TC was also maintained (49.5 ± 8.8 MPa, p = 0.58). Furthermore, SA significantly enhanced the DC on bleached pulp chamber dentin (p < 0.001), with the highest DC observed in the SA-treated group.
SEM analysis revealed no significant changes in the surface morphology; however, the resin-dentin interface in the bleached group exhibited numerous and longer resin tags, regardless of SA application. The findings suggest that SA improves bond performance and enhances the polymerization of 2-SEA when applied to intracoronally bleached pulp chamber dentin.
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