ABSTRACT
Objectives: The aim is to compare the adhesion between zirconia and cements attained with melt-etching with potassium hydrogen difluoride, KHF2, with that found when such traditional surface treatments as sandblasting and ceramic stone grinding are employed. Materials and methods: Groups of zirconia crowns where treated by sandblasting (n = 6), grinding with carbide bur (n = 6) or melt-etching with KHF2 (n = 6) of the surface before cementation with a resin cement to an implant substitute made by Selective Laser Melting of a cobalt-chromium alloy. Tensile testing was performed to rupture, while measured increasing load at the zirconia-cement interface. The strength was calculated by dividing the rupture load with the contact area. The three groups were compared using one-way ANOVA. Results: The adhesion strength between the zirconia crowns and the cement resulted in significant differences between all groups (p < .05). The sandblasted group had the lowest strength (5.2 ± 0.95 MPa), the ground group significantly higher (7.3 ± 1.49 MPa) and the melt-etched group the highest values (9.8 ± 1.37 MPa). Conclusion: The adhesive strength of resin cement to zirconia can be ranked according to the surface preparation with surfaces melt-etched with KHF2 stronger than ground which is stronger than sandblasted.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to develop and adapt a new method for testing dental implant systems and to apply it to existing systems with and without dampers. The parameters examined were the fatigue strength of the superstructure-retaining titanium screw, the deformation of the damper, and the effect on the supporting, bone-stimulating, and embedding material. METHOD AND MATERIALS: Ten pairs of implant specimens were prepared according to standard laboratory procedure and embedded in transparent polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). Five pairs were provided with polyoxymethylene dampers and five with nondamping titanium connectors. Each pair was connected with a metal beam, and cyclic loads were applied with a pneumatic-driven machine at a frequency of 2 Hz. Chewing forces of 150 to 450 N were transmitted by springs individual to each specimen. For each of the 2 x 10(5) cycles, there was a control of the retaining screw and bonding between the fixture and embedding material by registration of gap propagation in the implant-PMMA interface. RESULTS: A significant damping effect was noticed on the implant--embedding material interface. Damping did affect the superstructure, since the retaining screws were plastically deformed. The screws were unscrewed when the applied load exceeded 300 N, while the undamped system was seemingly unaffected. CONCLUSION: The study method made it possible to evaluate damping effects on different levels of implant systems, while satisfying the requirements for testing in a "clinical-like" way. PMMA was comparable to bone in supporting implants during fatigue testing.
