ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of universal adhesives and resin cement on the shear bond strength and durability of zirconia ceramics. METHODS: Zirconia ceramics were sintered into 20 mm×10 mm×10 mm and 10 mm×10 mm×10 mm specimens. The experiment was divided into 12 groups. The two types of specimens were bonded using two variants of resin cement (RelyX Ultimate and Clearfil SAC self-adhesive resin cement), universal adhesives (non-adhesive, Scotchbond uni-versal adhesive, and Clearfil SE One adhesive), and storage conditions (water bath and water bath-thermal cycling). The shear bond strengths were tested, and the fracture morphologies were analyzed. RESULTS: The cement (F=8.41, P<0.01) and adhesive (F=30.34, P<0.01) exerted a significant effect on the shear bond strength of zirconia, whereas storage condition showed no significant effect on this property (F=1.83, P=0.18). The lowest shear bond strength (14.02 MPa±6.86 MPa) was exhibited by the group treated with RelyX Ultimate resin cement, non-adhesive, and water bath-thermal cycling, whereas the highest shear bond strength (54.12 MPa±8.37 MPa) was displayed by the group treated with RelyX Ultimate resin cement, Scotchbond universal adhesive, and water bath-thermal cycling. CONCLUSIONS: Universal adhesives can improve the durability of the bonding of resin cement to zirconia. If non-self-adhesive resin cement is used without a universal adhe-sive, the durability of the bond will be greatly reduced.
