Abstract
Introduction: Due to the challenges of bonding in the oral environment, there is a constant need for research into developing better adhesive materials in dentistry. The purpose of this research is to determine the effect of incorporating poly(catechol-styrene) (PCS) as a primer and determining the effect of bonding cement or composite to dentin. Methods: Dental primers were formulated with 5, 1, 0.5, or 0.1 w/w % of PCS in acetone and were used to bond cement or composite. Shear bond strength was measured. Thermocycling was performed on samples and the shear bond strength was evaluated. The effect of PCS directly mixed into UDMA on the polymerization kinetics was evaluated. Stability was measured by observable color changes every other day. Results: The 5 w/w % PCS primer was found to be statistically different with a mean shear bond strength of 0 ± 0 MPa. As the concentration of PCS decreased, the bond strength increased back to the original bond strength of the control sets. The rate of conversion slowed down as the concentration of PCS increased suggesting that the PCS could be acting as a radical scavenger or chain transfer agent at the interface of dentin and composite. A color change was noted in every formulation that included PCS after about 7 days. Conclusion: PCS at lower concentrations could be used as a primer. However, there was no statistical improvement over existing commercially available primers. More experiments need to be done to investigate if PCS would create better underwater bonding than current commercially available dental adhesives and to determine if adding stabilizers to the formulation would prevent discoloration presumptively from oxidation.