Stable Resin Bonding to Y-TZP Ceramic with Air Abrasion by Alumina Particles Containing 7% Silica.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the influence of new air-abrasion powders with different silica concentrations (silica-coated aluminum oxide) and aging on the bond strength between composite cement and Y-TZP ceramic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ceramic slices (7 x 6.3 x 2 mm3) were randomly allocated into 8 groups (n = 20) considering different surface treatments (SiC: silica-coated aluminum oxide particles; AlOx: aluminum oxide particles; 7% Si and 20% Si: experimental powders consisting of 7% and 20% silica-coated of AlOx respectively) and aging (baseline: 24 h at 37°C in water; aged: 90 days at 37°C in water + 12,000 thermal cycles). A blinded researcher performed the air-abrasion procedure for 10 s (identical parameters for all groups). Composite resin cylinders (Ø = 3 mm) were cemented onto the silanized ceramic surfaces, light cured, and subjected to shear bond-strength testing (wire loop Ø = 0.5 mm). The topography of the powders and air-abraded surfaces was analyzed using SEM and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The elemental composition of the powders and air-abraded surfaces was analyzed with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and surface wetting of the air-abraded surfaces was also determined by contact-angle measurements. RESULTS: Under baseline conditions, all groups presented similar bond strengths, but only SiC and 7% Si yielded unaltered bond strength after aging. SiC and 7% Si presented lower contact angles. All groups presented similar surface topographies. The silica content was also similar among groups, except for AlOx. CONCLUSION: 7% Si and SiC presented similar bond strength and better bonding performance after aging than AlOx and 20% Si. A higher silica concentration was not able to promote stable adhesion of composite cement after aging.

Surface treatments of a glass-fiber reinforced composite: Effect on the adhesion to a composite resin.

PURPOSE: To compare the effect of different surface treatments (pre-treatments and bonding agents) on the bond strength between glass-fiber post and composite resin, and the topographic alterations of the treated post surface. METHODS: Thirty-six glass-fiber blocks (12mm×10mm×8mm) were specifically manufactured for this study and randomly assigned into 12 groups considering two factors: 'pre-treatments' (-cleaning with 70% alcohol; air-abrasion with silica-coated aluminum oxide particles; 35% hydrogen peroxide) and type of 'bonding agent' (no bonding agent; application of Monobond Plus; RelyX Ceramic Primer; Single Bond Universal). After that, 6 cylindrical templates (1mm high×1mm Ø) were fixed on each block, filled with composite resin (n=18) and light-cured. Specimens were stored under 37°C for 24h and microshear tests (wire loop Ø=0.2mm) were performed. Topographic, roughness and failure analyses were also performed. RESULTS: Different surface pre-treatments led to different topographic and roughness alterations; a higher surface alteration was noted after silica particles air-abrasion, while a slight surface alteration in the hydrogen peroxide group and a smooth pattern were observed in the cleaning group. The factors 'pre-treatments' (p<0.05), 'bonding agent' (p<0.05) and their interaction (p<0.05) influenced the bond strength. Silica coating, apart from bonding agent application, or Single Bond Universal application without pre-treatment promoted the highest bond values. The main failure type was adhesive at the resin-post interface. CONCLUSIONS: In terms of pre-treatments, silica coating promotes the best bonding performance, but pre-treatments can be dispensable when applying Single Bond Universal.

Mechanical reliability, fatigue strength and survival analysis of new polycrystalline translucent zirconia ceramics for monolithic restorations.

This study characterized the mechanical properties (static and under fatigue), the crystalline microstructure (monoclinic - m, tetragonal - t and cubic - c phase contents) and the surface topography of three yttrium-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) materials with different translucent properties, before and after aging in an autoclave (low temperature degradation). Disc-shaped specimens were produced from second generation (Katana ML/HT - high-translucent) and third generations (Katana STML - super-translucent and UTML - ultra-translucent) YSZ ceramics (Kuraray Noritake Dental Inc.), following ISO 6872-2015 guidelines for biaxial flexural strength testing (final dimensions: 15 mm in diameter and 1.2 ±â€¯0.2 mm in thickness), and then subjected to the respective tests and analyses. ML was mainly composed of tetragonal crystals, while STML and UTML presented cubic content. Aging increased the monoclinic content for ML and did not affect STML and UTML. Topographical analysis highlights different grain sizes on the ceramic surface (UTML > STML > ML) and aging had no effect on this outcome. Weibull analysis showed the highest characteristic strength for ML both before and after aging, and statistically similar Weibull moduli for all groups. ML material also obtained the highest survival rates (ML > STML > UTML) for both fatigue strength and number of cycles to failure. All fractures originated from surface defects on the tensile side. Third generation zirconia (Katana STML and UTML) are fully stabilized materials (with tetragonal and cubic crystals), being totally inert to the autoclave aging, and presented lower mechanical properties than the second-generation zirconia (Katana ML - metastable zirconia).