Aim: to evaluate the impact of using Er,Cr:YSGG Laser and chemomechanical method (PapaCarie) on the microshear bond strength of resin composite to caries affected dentin.
Materials and Methods: Twenty-Seven freshly extracted human mandibular molars with deep occlusal caries were selected for this study. Selected teeth were embedded in acrylic blocks with their clinical crowns exposed, then cross-sectioned horizontally leaving a flat carious dentin surface. They were then randomly assigned into three equal groups (n=9) according to the treatment method used. Group (1) (PapaCarie group): caries removal was done using chemomechanical method), Group (2) (Laser group): Er,Cr:YSGG laser was used for removal of caries, and Group (3) caries removal was done using the conventional excavation technique. Bonding protocol was applied to all teeth following the manufacture's instruction, followed by application of resin composite to the exposed dentin. Microshear bond strength was immediately evaluated using a universal testing machine. Results: One-way ANOVA test showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the three groups (P-value <0.05). Group 1 (PapaCarie group) showed the highest microshear bond strength mean value (25.31 MPa), followed by Group 2 (laser group) with mean value (24.46 MPa), with the lowest value for the Group 3 (conventional group) 23.98 MPa with no significant difference between the groups.
Conclusions: PapaCarie showed promising results in terms of bond strength to caries affected dentin. But still Er,Cr:YSGG laser could provide comparable satisfactory results.