Statement of problem: Different types of universal adhesives with different curing techniques are present in the market. The effect of their application modes on their performance is still unknown.
Objectives: To test three universal adhesives with different curing techniques and their bonding ability to dentin when applied in different application modes.
Methods: Self cure Palfique Universal Bond (PUB), light cure One Coat 7 Universal Bond (1C) with and without One Coat 7.0 Activator (+/- SCA) and light cure All-bond universal (ABU) and Filtek supreme flowable composite were used. The three adhesives were used in etch-and-rinse (ER) and self-etch (SE) mode to bovine dentin. Microshear bond strength (SBS) was tested. For each group 3 teeth were prepared with 15 Microshear bond specimens. Data was collected and analyzed using R statistical analysis software version 4.1.3 for Windows. Results: among groups, 1C showed the highest SBS values irrespective to application mode while PUB showed lower SBS in both modes compared to other used adhesives. In the ER mode only, PUB showed significantly lower SBS values compared to other tested adhesives, no significant differences were present between the 1C +/- SCA and ABU. In SE, both 1C + SCA and PBU presented significantly lower SBS compared with other groups, while 1C showed significant higher SBS.
Conclusions: All adhesives performed better in ER mode compared to SE mode except for PUB.
Significance: ER mode did not negatively affect the bonding performance to dentin and the variation of results in both application modes was adhesive dependent.