RESUMEN
PURPOSE: Conventional resin-bonded fixed partial dentures (RBFPDs) are usually made with a two-retainer design. Unlike conventional RBFPDs, cantilever resin-bonded fixed partial dentures (Cantilever RBFPDs) are, for their part, made with a single-retainer design. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of tooth surface preparation on the bond strength of zirconia cantilever single-retainer RBFPDs. The objective is to evaluate the shear bond strength of these single-retainer RBFPDs bonded on 3 different amount of tooth surface preparation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty extracted bovine incisors were categorized to 3 groups (n=10), with different amounts of tooth surface preparations. Teeth were restored with single-retainer RBFPDs with different retainer surfaces: large retainer of 32 mm²; medium retainer of 22 mm²; no retainer and only a proximal connecting box of 12 mm². All RBFPDs were made of zirconia and were bonded using an adhesive system without adhesive capacity. Shear forces were applied to these restorations until debonding. RESULTS: Mean shear bond strength values for the groups I, II, and II were 2.39±0.53 MPa, 3.13±0.69 MPa, and 5.40±0.96 MPa, respectively. Statistical analyses were performed using a one-way ANOVA test with Bonferroni post-hoc test, at a significance level of 0.001. Failure modes were observed and showed a 100% adhesive fracture. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that the preparation of large tooth surface preparation might be irrelevant. For zirconia single-retainer RBFPD, only the preparation of a proximal connecting box seems to be a reliable and minimally invasive approach. The differences are statistically significant.