Clinical trial of acid-etching prior to a self-etching adhesive system

It has been known that the operator's ability to perform bonding procedures strongly influences the clinical outcome of adhesive restorations. Also, the mild acidic component of self-etching adhesives is responsible for reducing its demineralization potential thus limiting its use in highly mineralized substrates. Objectives:, This in vivo study aimed to evaluate whether the use of acid etching treatment prior to the application of a self-etching adhesive system determines a better clinical performance for composites restorations of non-carious cervical lesions (NCCL). Methods:, The resin-based composite Z-100 associated to Clearfil Liner Bond 2V adhesive system was used in 70 NCCL restorations performed in 30 patients. An split-mouth study design was used and the restorations were evaluated in accordance with slightly modified USPHS criteria at baseline, 12th and 42th month. Results:, After 1 year, one restoration from the Experimental Group (Acid-etched) was lost, resulting in a retention rate of 94.7% and 100% for Control Group (No acid-etched). In the 3.5 year follow-up, the cumulative loss rate for Experimental group was 1.78%, while Control group showed no lost restorations. Within the evaluated parameters, statistically significant differences were not found between the employed techniques (chi-squared or Fisher's exact test, α =5%). Conclusion:, The acid-etching pre-treatment of NCCL previously to application of self-etching adhesive system application did not improve the clinical performance of composite restorations after 3.5 years.