Effects of neutralizing or antioxidant agents on the consequences induced by enamel bleaching agents in immediate resin composite restorations

Purpose: Bleaching agents are claimed to impair the bonding to the tooth structure when resin composite restorations are immediately performed. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a neutralizing solution (10% sodium bicarbonate) or an antioxidant agent (10% sodium ascorbate) on the immediate or delayed (15 days) shear bond strength (SBS) of composite restorations performed on enamel. Seventy flat buccal enamel surfaces obtained from bovine incisors were divided into seven groups (n = 10): control group, unbleached enamel, restored (3M ESPE/Adper Single Bond 2/Filtek Z350XT) (G1); bleached, immediately restored (G2); bleached, delayed restoration (G3); bleached, antioxidant (sodium ascorbate), immediately restored (G4); bleached, antioxidant, delayed restoration (G5); bleached, neutralizing (sodium bicarbonate), immediate restoration (G6); bleached, neutralizing, delayed restoration (G7). Specimens were submitted to SBS test and examined after failure using scanning electron microscopy (SEM)...