Clinicians have different opinions regarding the need to use phosphoric acid with self-etch bonding agents. A sampling of questions from dental professionals to customer support includes:
During this session, the discussion centered on this issue: Why should a clinician apply phosphoric acid when using self-etch agents, as “self-etch” is essentially a “total-etch,” because both etch enamel and dentin by acid monomers. Applying phosphoric acid requires extra steps and could result in technical error.
According to the visiting professors, phosphoric acid-etching is not necessary for standard cavities, even in anterior teeth, because Kuraray self-etch bonds have sufficient bond strength to “cut-enamel,” and the same or higher bond strength to cut-enamel as etch-and-rinse (total-etch) bonds. Dentists have had excellent clinical success placing direct restorations using Kuraray CLEARFIL™ bonding agents without phosphoric acid-etching, even when placing anterior restorations.
It is important to note that not all self-etch products are the same; some may require phosphoric acid for better adhesive retention. In all cases, the adherent surface must be clean for a bonding agent to work effectively.
In addition, clinicians cannot assume that bonding agents of the same generation have the same properties. There are many types of self-etch products available, and they do not perform the same. Not all self-etch products are identical; some bonding agents may require phosphoric acid for better retention.
For further information and to view the supporting figures and illustrations, please see the online interactive pdf, Technical Solutions for CLEARFIL Adhesives, at: https://kuraraydental.com/resources/01_technical_solutions_for_clearfil_adhesives.pdf.
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