Abstract
The aim of this work was to determine the effects of age, severity of fluorosis, and etching time on the shear bond strength of direct composite resin to human enamel. A total of 117 teeth, freshly extracted from patients in areas of Saudi Arabia endemic for dental fluorosis, were classified according to age (< 40 years and 40+ years) and severity of fluorosis, using the Thylstrup and Fejerskov index, TFI: TFI = 0, TFI = 1-3, and TFI = 4-6. Cylindrical composite resin specimens 5 mm in diameter and 3 mm high were bonded to the flattened midlabial enamel surfaces etched for 60 or 120 seconds and shear bond strength measured, using the Instron Universal Testing Machine at a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/minute. Shear bond strength of the resin varied between 11.2 +/- 3.6 and 21.6 +/- 4.1 MPa. Three-way analysis of variance and Sheffé's multiple range test showed that the severity of fluorosis had no statistically significant effect on shear bond strength (p > 0.05). However, the bond was significantly stronger in teeth from patients < 40 years old than from those 40+ years old. Furthermore, at age < 40 years, shear bond strength was significantly higher in teeth etched for 120 seconds than those etched for 60 seconds (p < 0.05), but this was not the case in teeth from the older patients. In teeth with TFI = 1-3, the mode of bond failure was predominantly mixed, but at TFI = 4-6, the bond failure was mostly cohesive in enamel at all ages and etching times. It is, therefore, concluded that both age and etching time affect the shear bond strength of composite resin to fluorosed human enamel.