Long-term bond strength of glass fiber post to composite resin does not depend on surface treatment with silane coupling agent or universal adhesive

This study evaluated the effect of glass fiber post (GFP) surface treatment with or without a silane coupling agent, associated with adhesive systems with or without silane in their composition, on the long-term bond strength to resin composite. Sixty GFPs (Whitepost DC no. 2, FGM) were cleaned using 70% ethanol, and randomly divided into two groups, either with or without pretreatment with silane (Ceramic Primer, 3 M ESPE), for 60 s. Each group was further subdivided into three groups, according to the adhesive system applied over the GFP (n = 10): UAS (Scotchbond Universal, 3 M ESPE), E&R – etch-and-rinse adhesive system (Adper Single Bond Plus, 3 M ESPE), and a control group with no adhesive system. The GFPs were centralized in a cylindrical matrix, and a nanoparticulate resin composite (Filtek Supreme Ultra, 3 M ESPE) was inserted and photoactivated. After 48 h, the samples were sectioned in slices, two of which were immediately (48 h) submitted to the push-out bond strength test, and another two, after 6 months of storage in water. The failure mode was evaluated with a stereomicroscope under 40× magnification, and classified using scores. Three-way ANOVA (α = 0.05) showed that the triple interaction of pretreatment with silane, use of adhesive and time period were significant (p = 0.019). After 48 h, the application of silane resulted in a significant increase in bond strength values, regardless of the adhesive application (p = 0.013), but this effect was no longer observed after 6 months (p = 0.677). Application of UAS did not influence bond strength values, regardless of silane application or storage time (p > 0.05). As for E&R, significantly higher bond strength was observed after 6 months, compared with 48 h (p = 0.040). When post silanization was performed with no adhesive system, there was no difference in bond strength between 48 h and 6 months storage time (p > 0.05). When there was neither silanization, nor an adhesive system, a significantly higher bond strength was observed after 6 months, compared with 48 h (p < 0.05). Most of the failure types were classified as mixed in both of the water storage time periods. The long-term bond strength of the GFP to composite resin did not depend on post surface treatment with silane, or application of either a UAS or a E&R system.