Background:
Temporary crowns are the most common method of protecting dental surfaces after crown preparation. They are bonded with temporary cements, whose remnants may adversely impact the strength with which composite cement is bonded to dental tissues.

Aim:
To assess the effect of temporary cements and protocols of cleansing temporary cements on the bond strength of Panavia F 2.0 cement.

Material and methods:
A total of 116 sectioned samples of human teeth were used. The specimens were randomly divided into 10 groups. Temp Bond, Temp Bond NE and Temp Bond Clear temporary cements were used. The specimens were then cleansed with a manual instrument, prophy cup with pumice on a slow handpiece, and air abrasion. Roller-shaped portion of Panavia F 2.0 was then cemented. Shear bond strength was measured and dentine surfaces were examined using scanning electron microscopy.

Results:
Cleansing Temp Bond NE with a prophy cup and pumice produced the highest shear bond strength of Panavia F 2.0 cement with dentine (8.32 ± 2.91 MPa). The most effective method of cleansing Temp Bond was also a prophy cup with pumice (2.96 ± 1.77 MPa), whereas Temp Bond Clear was cleaned most effectively with a manual instrument (4.51 ± 1.83 MPa).

Conclusions:
The highest shear bond strength of self-etching composite cement to dentine was achieved after using zinc-oxide-eugenol-free temporary cement. The most effective method of removing zinc-oxide temporary cements is a prophy cup with pumice, while resin-based temporary cements are best cleared with hand instruments. However, none of the dentine cleansing methods removes temporary cement remnants completely.