AIM: To evaluate the radiopacity and microhardness (KHN) of experimental dental adhesives (EX). The experimental adhesive resins of the present study were formulated based on the simplified adhesive system Ambar (FGM). METHODS: Five EX with different concentrations of zirconia nanoparticles [0(EX0), 15(EX15), 25(EX25), 30(EX30) e 50%(EX50)] were incorporated in a UDMA/HEMA adhesive (control). Adper Single BondTM 2 (SB, 3M ESPE) was used as a commercial reference. For the radiopacity (n=5), KHN (n=5), adhesive specimens were fabricated using a stainless steel mold. Data were submitted to one-way ANOVA and Tukey's test (α=0.05). RESULTS: The filler addition on the EX showed radiopacity similar to enamel and higher than SB. The EX25, EX35 and EX50 showed higher KHN values when compared to the commercial SB. EX25, EX35 and EX50 showed higher KHN values when compared to the commercial SB. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present investigation suggest that the addition of zirconia nanoparticles seems to be a good alternative to produce radiopaque adhesives with increased microhardness.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of application time on the resin-dentin bond strength (µTBS) and etching pattern of adhesive systems applied on sclerotic dentine. Material and Methods: A total of forty-two bovine incisors had their roots removed. The 1-step self-etch GO (SDI), the 2-step self-etch Adper SE Bond (3MESPE) and the 35% phosphoric acid (3MESPE) from the 2-step etch-and-rinse Adper Single Bond 2 (3MESPE) were applied on the bovine incisal surfaces according to the manufacturer's instructions or duplicating the recommended conditioning time. After adhesive application, thirty teeth were restored with composite resin, stored for 24 h in distilled water at 37°C, and sectioned into resin-dentin bonded sticks (0.8 mm 2 ) and tested according to the µTBS at 0.5 mm/min. The etching pattern of the remaining twelve teeth (n=4 for each material) was examined under scanning electron microscopy. Each tooth was divided into a buccal-to-lingual direction into three thirds, and each third randomly assigned to the groups: control (no treatment), according to the manufacturers' instructions and duplicating the recommended application time. The µTBS and the relative percentage of the tubule area opening were evaluated by two-way repeated measures ANOVA and Tukey's tests (α=0.05). Results: The duplication of the conditioning time favored only the GO adhesive (p<0.05). Both application methods significantly increased the tubule area opening (p<0.05) compared to the controls. Conclusions: The efficacy of duplicating the conditioning time was only effective for the 1-step self-etch adhesive system tested.