Adhesive bond integrity of dentin conditioned by photobiomodulation and bonded to bioactive restorative material

Aim: The aim of this in-vitro study is to investigate the shear bond strength (SBS) of Bioactive bulk fill restorative material (BARM) (Activa) by surface pre-treatment using Er,Cr:YSGG (ECL) on dentin in comparison to conventional dentin conditioning techniques. Material and Methods: Sixty extracted non-carious, non-fractured, restoration free human molars were collected and mounted vertically in acrylic resin. The buccal surface of all molars were ground and polished with abrasive paper. The specimens were randomly allocated into four groups (n = 15) according to the type of surface treatment. Group 1 ECL + BARM, Group 2 ECL + Ketac + BARM, Group 3 Conventional Etch and Rinse + BARM, Group 4 Self-etch + BARM. The specimens from each group were positioned in a universal testing machine for SBS testing. Ten samples from each group were assessed for modes of failure. Means and standard deviations were compared using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's post hoc test at a significance level of p < 0.05. Results: BARM bonded to dentin surface etched with conventional etch and rinse technique (group 3) exhibited SBS value of 18.45 +/- 1.34. Similarly, the lowest bond strength was observed by group 4 (self-etch regime) bonded to BARM (16.09 +/- 0.81). The bond strength among groups 1 (ECL + BARM), 2 (ECL + Ketac + BARM) and 3 (etch and rinse + BARM) were found to be comparable (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Conditioning of dentin with photobiomodulation for the adhesive bonding of BARM showed comparable bond strength outcomes to conventional conditioning techniques.