Does chemomechanical caries removal affect dentine adhesion?

The purpose of this study was to determine whether shear bond strengths (SBS) to chemomechanically excavated dentine (Carisolv(TM)) differed from the SBS after conventional caries removal (bur). The following adhesive systems were used: Dyract AP/NRC/Prime & Bond NT; Dyract AP/Prime & Bond NT; Tetric Ceram/Syntac SC; Tetric Ceram/Syntac SC (no etch) (TC 2); Definite/Etch & Prime 3.0; Definite/experimental. One-hundred and twenty human molars with occlusal caries were assigned to 12 groups. Sequential caries removal was controlled with laser fluorescence. After water storage, the samples were tested in a single-plane shear test assembly. The results demonstrated differences between the bonding systems, whereas the mode of caries removal had no consistent effect. If total etch technique was neglected, the results of the composite resin (TC 2) indicated a tendency to higher SBS in the Carisolv group (18.6 +/- 4.6 MPa) compared with conventional treatment (14.1 +/- 3.9 MPa). The present data demonstrate that chemomechanical caries removal has no adverse effect on bonding of modern adhesive systems to dentine. Smear layer-dissolving or -modifying bonding systems could potentially benefit from chemomechanical pretreatment.