Effect of Er: YAG laser, diamond bur and sandblasting on the microtensile bond strength of the composite to noncarious cervical lesions

Restoration of non-carious cervical lesions (NCCLs) is challenging due to the difficulty of adhesion of dental tissues. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of three methods of surface treatments using diamond bur, Er: YAG laser and sandblasting on the microtensile bond strength of resin composite to the noncarious dentin in cervical lesions.

In this in vitro study, 48 canine and premolar extracted human teeth with NCCLs at the buccal surface were selected and randomly divided into 4 groups of twelve each: control group without any treatment, Er: YAG laser group, diamond bur group and sandblasting group. For all groups, the bonding agent used was Clearfil SE Bond and then the cavities were filled with the Filtek Z250 resin-composite. After this step, the teeth were cut and then subjected to the microtensile bond strength test. Data were analyzed by the Kruskal Wallis test.

According to the obtained results, the microtensile bond strength, from the highest to the lowest values were in the sandblast group (24.57±10.24 MPa), the diamond bur group (19.19±10.8 MPa), laser group (18.59±9.05 MPa) and the control group (18.56±9.27 MPa), respectively. Although, no statistically significant difference was found between any of the groups (P=0.266).

It seems that in teeth with NCCLs, the sandblasting method had a much better effect on the bond strength, although no statistically difference between surface treatment methods was found.