Improving the Bonding Stability Between Resin Cements and Zirconia-Based Ceramic Using Different Surface Treatments

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of airborne-particle abrasion (APA) with alumina particles vs silica-modified alumina particles on the bond strength between zirconia and conventional MDP-based (Ph) or self-adhesive resin cements. Materials and Methods: Five surface treatments were evaluated: (1) C = control (no surface treatment); (2) AB = APA with alumina particles; (3) ABP = APA combined with MDP-based primer; (4) SS = APA with silica-modified alumina particles combined with silane; and (5) SSP = SS protocol combined with MDP-based primer. The surface roughness (Ra) of the APA samples (n = 5) was measured by a contact profilometer. Cylinders of the resin cements tested were bonded to the surface-treated zirconia. The microshear test was performed by the application of a load, with a wire loop, parallel to the adhesive interface until debonding of the resin cement cylinders. The microshear bond strength (μSBS) of the samples was measured before and after being subjected to thermocycling (TC; 5ºC to 55ºC, 60-second dwell time, 3,000 cycles). One-way ANOVA (surface roughness) and two-way ANOVA (μSBS) followed by Tukey post hoc test ( =.05) were used. Results: The SS (Ph: 12.6 MPa; Ph + TC: 6.37 MPa; SA: 11.8 MPa; SA + TC: 9.37 MPa) and SSP (Ph: 10.4 MPa; Ph + TC: 5.82 MPa; SA: 10.4 MPa; SA + TC: 10.0 MPa) surface treatments produced the highest surface roughness values (P <.001). The SS samples achieved the highest immediate bond strength for both resin cements. However, after TC, SA resin cement associated with any surface treatment produced the highest bond strength values. Conclusion: Self-adhesive resin cement promotes higher and more stable bond strength values when associated with a surface roughening method.