Such self-etching primers will overcome many of the problems of current dental adhesives, promote conservative dentistry and benefit the general public. Current dental adhesives systems are characterized by the complexity of their compositions and bonding procedures. Bonding protocols for applying a variety of adhesive agents often are technique sensitive, labor intensive and multi-step in nature. These aggressive conditioners have a propensity to over-etch mineralized tissues, especially dentin which is not as highly mineralized as enamel and, consequently, lacks the superior buffering capacity of the latter.
Many bonding protocols require rinsing and drying of the conditioned surface.
Conditioning dentin with strong acids removes the smear layer, demineralizes peritubular and intertubular dentin and creates a micro-porous surface into which adhesive agents can diffuse.