Shear bond strength of a self-etch adhesive to caries-affected dentin after caries removal by Er:YAG laser

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the shear bond strength of a self-etch adhesive to caries-affected dentin after caries removal by erbium: yttrium, aluminum garnet (Er:YAG) laser and analyze the resin-dentin interface. The caries-infected dentin of human molars were removed by Er:YAG laser with energy density of 20 J/cm 2 and pulse repetition rate of 20 Hz. The conventional bur was used as control group. After bonding procedures, specimens were subjected to shear bond strength test and the adhesive interface was examined by laser confocal scanning microscope (LCSM). The result showed that Er:YAG laser could effectively remove dentin caries. There was no statistical difference in shear bond strength between two groups and the adhesive interface created on laser-irradiated dentin surface presented similar feature to that on bur-ground surface.