General principles for achieving adequate bond to all- ceramic restorations

Abstract

Achieving strong and reliable bond to all-ceramic restorations is a pre-requisite for long term clinical success. With the great diversity of the available materials, there is a need for establishing general concepts for bonding all-ceramic restorations. The aim of this study was to evaluate bond strength to two ceramic substrates using different resin cements in combination with different surface treatments. Zirconia and glass ceramic discs received either airborne particle abraded, etched with hydrofluoric acid and coated with silane coupling agent, or combination of particle abrasion and silane coupling agent. Specimens were bonded to composite resin discs and sectioned into micro-bars to evaluate ceramic resin micro-tensile bond strength (α = 0.05). Statistical analysis revealed that the type of ceramic substrate (polycrystalline - glass ceramic), type of resin cement (MDP or non MDP containing), type of surface treatment, and their interaction all had a significant influence on ceramic resin micro-tensile bond strength. Combination of adequate micro-mechanical retention (particle abrasion) and chemical bonding (MDP for zirconia and silane for glass ceramic) is a pre-requisite for achieving reliable ceramic resin bond strength. Proper selection of type of resin cement and type of surface treatment that match the ceramic substrate will result in significant improvement of ceramic resin bond strength. Key words: MTBS, zirconia, glass ceramic, bond strength.