An overview of solvents in resin–dentin bonding

Resin bonding to dentin is less durable than bonding to enamel. Bonding to dentin had been a great challenge till date. Though the current dental adhesive systems have tremendously improved the complex dentin bonding, there are still challenges that need to be addressed. Improper handling of the dental adhesive systems is one of the several reasons for the decrease in durability of resin–dentin bonds over time. Improper handling includes inappropriate storage and inaccurate method(s) of application. Solvents incorporated in the dental adhesive systems are known to dissolve methacrylate monomer/co-monomer blends and the initiator/co-initiator systems. These solvents are volatile and they play several important roles in achieving successful and durable bond to dentin. Lack of knowledge about the role of solvents used in dental adhesives could be one of the reasons for improper handling of the dental adhesive systems. This overview discusses the solvent aspects of current dental adhesive systems and their applications in bonding. The overview consists of published literature retrieved from “Pubmed”, by using specific key words “solvents”, “resin adhesives”, “dentin”, “bonding”. The relevant literature was retrieved after screening the titles and the abstracts. Further relevant articles that were included for the overview were retrieved from the reference lists of the initially retrieved articles. The literature seems to indicate that solvent type, solvent content and other factors, like storage of the adhesives and methods of application play a major role in dentin bonding. The knowledge acquired on the solvents and their roles in dentin bonding would enable the users of the dental adhesives to handle them appropriately and consequently achieve strong and durable resin–dentin bonds.