Shear bond strength of a 4-META adhesive system.

This study evaluated the shear bond strength between amalgam and amalgam, amalgam and composite resin, and amalgam and dentin using a 4-META adhesive. Eighty samples were divided into four groups of 20 and were then divided into subgroups of 10 samples for thermocycling procedures. This study indicated that amalgam bonded to amalgam with a 4-META adhesive yielded bond strengths that were weaker than the shear strength of amalgam itself (p less than 0.05), and that thermocycling appeared to significantly weaken bond values (p less than 0.02).