Effects of adhesive drying methods to reduce aerosol generation during resin bonding on enamel bond strength

ObjectiveIn order to reduce the amount of aerosol during the use of dental adhesives, which are widely used in minimally invasive procedures, the effects of air stream-free adhesive drying methods on the enamel bond strength of resin adhesive systems were evaluated. Materials and MethodsThe four adhesive drying techniques used were an air-stream, a micro-applicator, a cotton pellet and an absorbent paper. Adhesive systems were Single Bond Universal and Optibond All-in-one. The group in which the adhesive was not dried served as the negative control group. Enamel shear bond strength was performed with a universal tester with a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min (n=12). A two-way analysis of variance and the Tukey post-hoc test were used for analysis of the SBS data. ResultsFor both adhesives, drying the adhesive with cotton pellet or micro-applicator provided a SBS mean values similar to air-stream drying, while statistically significantly lower SBS mean values were observed in the negative control group and in the absorbent paper-dry group compared to the air-drying group. ConclusionsDrying the adhesive with micro-applicator and cotton pellets creates less aerosol and thus can be used in the COVID-19 pandemic as it provides enamel bonding strength similar to air drying. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCETo provide safer dental care during COVID-19 pandemic, it is highly recommended to use non-aerosol-generating alternatives, instead of aerosolgenerating dental procedures. In this study, we found that the aerosol generation-free methods for adhesive-drying such as cotton pellet and micro applicator drying methods provide similar enamel bonding with conventional drying method. We think that our findings will contribute to the realization of safer adhesive dentistry practice, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.