The aim of this study was to compare two self-etching and a total-etch adhesive systems by assessing their shear bond strength to bovine enamel and the microleakage on class V composite restorations prepared on bovine enamel. Bovine teeth selected and allocated in three groups: Group 1: Scothbond Multi-Purpose; Group 2: Clearfil Liner Bond 2V; Group 3: Etch & Prime 3.0. For the microleakage test, each group was composed of ten class V restorations on the buccal surface. Two examiners attributed scores ranging from 0 (without leakage) to 3 (maximum leakage) to determine silver nitrate penetration at enamel-composite interface. Microleakage data were analyzed statistically by Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests at 5% significance level. For the bond strength test, ten teeth of each group were included, had their buccal surfaces flattened in order to obtain a 3-mm-diameter area to which a resin cylinder was bonded. After one week, the specimens were tested in shear strength at a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min. Bond strength data were treated by ANOVA and LSD tests at 5% significance level. The debonded interfaces were examined under scanning electron microscopy. No leakage was observed along enamel margins. Means (+/- SD) in MPa were: 18.75 (+/-5.83), 22.17 (+/-4.95) and 14.93 (+/-6.7) for Groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. According to the results of this study, the self-etching primer systems presented statistically similar behavior (p>0.05) to that of the total-etch adhesive system (used as a control), not only regarding marginal leakage at bovine enamel-composite resin interface, but also regarding the shear bond strength of the bovine enamel. However, the self-etching primer systems differed significantly (p>0.05) to each other, with better results for Clearfil Liner Bond 2V. In conclusion, the self-etching primer systems had a performance comparable to that of the total-etch adhesive system.

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RelyXTM Unicem, dual-curing self-adhesive resin cement, was tested in order to evaluate the degree of conversion (DC) and Vickers microhardness (VMH). The specimens were prepared into 4 groups (GR). For GR1, the specimens were irradiated with 500 mW.cm -2 during 20 seconds while for GR3 the same intensity was used but the irradiation time was 40 seconds. The GR2 followed the same polymerization mode of the GR1 but a ceramic disk was applied as a light barrier. For the last group, only the chemical polymerization was carried out. The DC and VMH were measured immediately after the irradiation time and again after 24 hours. Dual-polymerization (light and chemical polymerization) showed higher DC and VMH than the chemical polymerization (dark cure). The presence of a ceramic disk did not affect the DC but reduced the VMH. Increasing the exposure to light, the DC remained almost constant whereas the VMH raised slightly indicating that the VMH is quite dependent on the incident energy. Additionally, the powder/liquid portions of the cement were also characterized. The TG showed that the solid fraction was constituted of 96% of inorganic matter and 4% of vinyl-silane, a coupling agent. Regarding the liquid part, it was found that 84% was related to the mixture of monomers. The SEM revealed that the size particle of the inorganic fillers were between 400 and 11.000 nm. Factors such as energy density, size and distribution of inorganic fillers and the low effectiveness of the chemical cure contributed to the low values of the DC and VMH.