A randomized clinical trial evaluating the success rate of ethanol wet bonding technique and two adhesives

Background: Composite resin restorations may have a short lifespan due to the degradation of resin–dentin interface. Ethanol wet bonding technique may extend the longevity of resin–dentin bond. The purpose of this one year randomized clinical trial was to compare clinical performance of two adhesives with ethanol wet bonding technique. Materials and Methods: This randomized clinical trial was performed on 36 non-carious cervical lesions in 12 patients restored with composite resin using one of the following approaches: 1. OptiBond FL (Kerr, USA); 2. Clearfil SE Bond (Kuraray, Japan) with enamel etching and 3. Ethanol wet bonding technique with the part of adhesive of OptiBond FL. The clinical success rate was assessed after 24 h, 6, 9 and 12 months according to the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) criteria: Marginal discoloration, marginal defect, retention rate, caries occurrence, and postoperative sensitivity. The tooth vitality was also assessed. Results: The retention rate was 100% at baseline and at 6 months follow up for all types of bonding protocols and was 91.67% at 9 and 12 months follow up for ethanol wet bonding group. None of the restorations in three groups showed marginal defects, marginal discoloration or caries occurrence and were vital after 12 months. There was no statistically significant difference between three groups after 12 months follow up (p value = 0.358). Conclusions: Composite restorations placed using ethanol wet bonding technique presented equal performance to the other groups.