Search

• This is the first long-term clinical study evaluating the first commercial universal adhesive. • The etch-and-rinse (moist or dry) strategy showed better clinical behavior than the self-etch strategy. • For practicing dentists, it is recommended to etch enamel when using a universal adhesive. • FDI and USPHS criteria showed similar results after 5 years. To evaluate the five-year clinical performance of Scotchbond Universal Adhesive (SU; 3M Oral Care, St. Paul, MN, USA) in non-carious cervical lesions (NCCLs) using two evaluation criteria. Thirty-nine patients participated in this study. Two hundred restorations were assigned to four groups: SU-ERm: etch-and-rinse + moist dentin; SU-ERd: etch-and-rinse + dry dentin; SU-Set: selective enamel etching; and SU-SE: self-etch. A nanofilled composite resin was placed incrementally. The restorations were evaluated at baseline and after 5 years using both the World Dental Federation (FDI) and the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) criteria. The survival rates (retention/fractures) were calculated with the Kaplan-Meier and the log-rank test. For the secondary outcomes, Friedman repeated measures analysis of variance by rank was applied (α = 0.05). After 5 years the recall rate was 86%. The retention/fracture rates were 93% for Er m and ER d, 88.4% for SE et and 81.4% for SE. A significant difference was observed for SE vs. ER d and SE vs. ER m (p = 0.01). Also, marginal discoloration and adaptation showed significant differences with ER m and ERd resulting in fewer marginal discrepancies than SE (p < 0.05). After 5 years, the clinical behavior of the universal adhesive in the etch-and-rinse strategy was better when compared to the self-etch strategy. The use of selective enamel etching is highly recommended for the self-etch strategy. The FDI and USPHS evaluation criteria showed similar results after 5 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]