Abstract
A 4-META/MMA resin initiated with oxidized tributylborane(TBBO), which is known commercially as Super-Bond, shows excellent adhesion to dentin only when the dentin is pretreated with a citric acid(CA)solution containing ferric chloride(FC).However, no detailed study has been made on the mechanism of this strong adhesion, role of FC and 4-META, or long-term stability of the adhesion.From my experiments on polymerization of(4-META/)MMA with TBBO in the presence of a dentin slice and the effect of FC posttreatment on the adhesion between the resin and acid-etched dentin, I have drawn the following conclusions:(1)FC adsorbed onto dentin collagen is involved in the promotion of polymerization of MMA, (2)4-META increases the molecular weight of the polymer formed, and(3)thus the combined effect of(1)and(2)enhances the bond strength of the resin to dentin.The resin containing 4-META seems to be more susceptible to immersing environment than that without 4-META.
