IN VITRO BOND STRENGTH OF DENTAL RESIN-COMPOSITES: A REVIEW OF AFFECTING VARIABLES

The objective of this article was to in-depth review the literature regarding the different parameters that critically influence the “in vitro” bond strength between the tooth structure and restorative resin-composites. The need to do such a review was due to inconsistencies between the bond strength results obtained from studies for the same products. One can justify such a difference between results on the basis that authors do not standardize all variables that may have a direct effect on the results. Some of these variables include resin-composite material used, adhesive system applied, type of bond strength test (macro or micro, shear or tensile), bonding area, storage time and conditions, load application method, mode of failure, and other testing parameters. Understanding of such issues will enable researchers to properly select and conduct the bond strength test and correctly interpret the resulting data.