Self-etch adhesives: A review of the literature

Objectives. This literature review summarizes the main aspects involved in the process of adhesion to enamel and dentin and focuses the reader's attention on the evolution of self-etch systems, highlighting their chemical and bond properties and applications in the clinical practice. Materials and methods. An online search of keywords on the PubMed database was performed to search for scientific articles (reviews, original articles) published in recent years regarding self-etch adhesives. Results. Multiple laboratory and clinical studies described adhesion mechanisms of self-etch adhesives. The majority of these publications found a higher bond quality of self-etch adhesive to dentin, while the bond to enamel remained questionable, especially for single step adhesives. Conclusions. The self-etch technique is considered a valid dental adhesion approach from a restorative standpoint. © 2014 EDRA LSWR SpA.