Objectives: The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the shear bond strength of composite resin to deep dentin after pretreatment with different collagen cross linking agents i.e proanthocyanidin and glutaraldehyde.
Study Design: 30 freshly extracted molars were collected. The occlusal surfaces of the teeth were ground flat to expose the deep dentin. After acid etching of the dentin surface with 37% phosphoric acid, all the specimens were randomly divided into three groups based on the pretreatment to be done. Group I (control, n=10, no surface pretreatment), Group II (n=10, pretreatment with 6.5% proanthocyanidin), Group III (n=10, pretreatment with 30% glutaraldehyde). Following bonding agent application and light curing, a 4 mm composite build up was done using a tube with an internal diameter of 3 mm. All the specimens were tested for shear bond strength using universal testing machine.
Results and Conclusion: Both the collagen cross linking agents significantly increased the shear bond strength of composite to dentin when compared to the control group (p value = 0.002). There was no statistically significant difference between the two experimental groups (p value = 0.007).

Keywords: Collagen cross linking agents, Glutaraldehyde, Proanthocyanidin, Shear bond strength.