Method: All the components of the manufacturers product – closed adhesive- and brush-containers, mixing wells, etc. – were initially placed on the dental assistant’s tray. The set-up time, measured with a stopwatch, started, e.g. with opening a vial and was completed when the assistant wet the application brush. The specific application time of each product was taken from each product’s instructions for use. The clean-up time consisted of the time it took to clean or dispose of the used components. Non disposable components then had to be disinfected. Disinfection methods and times vary and are indicated by “+disinfection”. All products set-up and clean-up times were determined three times by four different dental assistants.
Results: The total working time (sec.) is the sum of the mean values of (Set-up time ± standard deviation / Application time / Clean-up time ± standard deviation) A: Adper Prompt L-Pop (3M ESPE) (8.8±0.87/38/1.7 a±0.65) = 48.5; B: Clearfil SE Bond (Kuraray) (22.7±2.23/46/12.2±3.41) = 80.9+disinfection; C: iBond (Heraeus Kulzer ) (11.3±1.07/63/1.9 a±0.67) = 76.2; D: XENO III (Dentsply) (24.8±3.16/38/8.8±1.64) = 71.6+disinfection. The set-up and clean-up times of the adhesives differ significantly (p(set-up)<0.05 / p(cleanup)<0.05) except for the homogeneous group (a) (p>0.05) (Two-way ANOVA).
Conclusion: Set-up and clean-up times are significantly shorter with unit dose products like A and C. Adhesive A resulted in the shortest total working time of 48.5 seconds while B resulted in the longest working time of 80.9 seconds.