Influence of surface treatments and resin cement selection on bonding to zirconia

This study aimed to evaluate the surface changes caused in zirconia by different surface treatments and the influence of the surface treatment and cement selection on bonding to zirconia under aging. Sintered zirconia specimens were divided into five groups (n = 31) based on the surface treatment, namely, control, air abrasion, silica coating, laser and air abrasion + laser. After surface treatment, surface roughness and microscope analyses were performed on one specimen of each group. Composite cylinders were then bonded to conditioned ceramics using RelyX U100 (RXU), Clearfil Esthetic Cement (CEC) and Panavia F (PF) (n = 10). After 24 h, the bonded specimens were subjected to thermal cycling (6,000 times), and then, a shear bond strength test was conducted. The roughness values were analysed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests, and the bond strengths were analysed by two-way analysis of variance and Duncan's test. The relationship between the roughness and the bond strength was determined by Spearman's correlation analysis. Specimens subjected to surface treatments were rougher than the control specimen (p < 0.000). However, there were no significant differences between the air abrasion and air abrasion + laser groups and the silica coating and laser groups. Specimens treated with laser showed lower bond strengths irrespective of the resin cement used. CEC and/or PF showed higher bond strengths than RXU for each surface treatment group. No significant relationship was observed between the roughness and the bond strength. The results of this study showed that all the surface treatments, except for laser irradiation, were suitable for treating zirconia ceramics. Cement selection was found to be more important than surface treatment, and phosphate monomer-containing cements were suitable for cementing zirconia