Evaluation of the Effect of Different Surface Treatments, Aging and Enzymatic Degradation on Zirconia-Resin Micro-Shear Bond Strength

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of surface treatments on zirconia-resin bonding and the effect of aging on bond durability for one year.

Method: Three hundred and twenty zirconia blocks were divided into 4 equal study groups. Group 1 (control): as-sintered, group 2: (GB): grit-blasted, group 3: (LAS): laser-etched, group 4: (SIE): selective infiltration etching. Composite cylinders were bonded to the zirconia with resin cement and ceramic primer. Aging was performed following 3 different aging protocols: thermocycling, storage in distilled water, or storage in an enzymatic esterase solution. Micro-shear bond strength test (μSBS) was recorded using a universal testing machine. μSBS values were analyzed using two-way Analysis of Variance followed by Tukey post-hoc tests. Level of significance was set at 0.05.

Results: GB, LAS and SIE groups showed significantly higher values when compared to control. Groups GB, LAS and SIE reported a significant decrease up to 50% in μSBS after water storage and enzymatic degradation, while control group reported a 90% decrease. Failure analysis showed mainly adhesive failure for control group, while the percentage of cohesive failure in resin cement was higher in SIE group compared to GB and LAS groups.

Conclusion: Water aging and esterase solutions played a significant role by increasing bond degradation. A minimum of one-year water and esterase storage medium should be used to evaluate the durability of the bond between resin cement and zirconia.