The purpose of this study was to compare, in vitro, the shear bond strength of resin-modified glass ionomer (RMGI) bonded to an enamel surface prepared by either sandblasting with 50μm of aluminium oxide particles, deproteinization with 5.25% NaOCl, or by combining both techniques.

One hundred and fifty human premolars were cleaned and randomly divided into five groups. In group 1, the teeth were etched using 37% phosphoric acid and bonded with Transbond XT. In group 2, the teeth were etched using 37% phosphoric acid and bonded with Fuji Ortho LC. In group 3, the teeth were deproteinized with 5.25% NaOCl for one minute then etched with 37% phosphoric acid and bonded with Fuji Ortho LC. In group 4, the enamel was sandblasted with 50μm of aluminium oxide particles for 5seconds prior to etching and bonding with Fuji Ortho LC. In group 5, the teeth were both sandblasted with 50μm of aluminium oxide particles for 5seconds and deproteinized with 5.25% NaOCl for one minute prior to etching using 37% phosphoric acid and bonding with Fuji Ortho LC. The shear bond strength was tested using a universal testing machine with a crosshead speed of 1.0mm/min. The adhesive remnant index (ARI) index was also determined for each group.

The mean shear bond strengths were as follows: group 1: 11.33±2.60MPa, group 2: 8.14±2.09, group 3: 9.57±3.25MPa, group 4: 9.49±1.99MPa and group 5: 9.76±2.29MPa (P=0.0001).

The results show that pre-treating the enamel with either sandblasting, NaOCl, or both, could give a significantly higher shear bond strength than using RMGI with acid etch alone.