Investigation of the effect of titanium alloy surface coating with different techniques on titanium-porcelain bonding.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: The bond strength of dental porcelain to titanium is inadequate as a clinical alternative to conventional alloys for metal ceramic restorations. PURPOSE: The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the effects of coating titanium surface with a micro-arc oxidation (MAO) technique and hydroxyapatite (HA) on the bond strength of porcelain to titanium surfaces. MATERIAL AND METHODS: One hundred twenty machined titanium specimens with a dimension of 25×3×0.5 mm were prepared from grade 5 titanium as the metal substrate. Specimens were divided into 6 groups (n=20) according to the surface treatment used: airborne-particle abraded (control), coated with MAO for 5 minutes, coated with MAO for 15 minutes, coated with MAO for 30 minutes, coated with HA, and combination of MAO and HA. Each group was further divided into 2 subgroups (n=10) according to the type of porcelain used: Noritake Ti-22 porcelain or Vita-Titankeramik porcelain. The bond strength was tested with a universal testing machine at a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min. Data were analyzed statistically with 2-way ANOVA and Tukey honest significant differences multiple comparison tests (α=.05). RESULTS: For both porcelain groups, the 30-minute MAO groups showed higher bond strength values than those of the control groups (P<.05). In the Vita Titankeramik porcelain subgroup, the specimens coated with HA did not show any statistical differences compared with those of the control group (P>.05). Surface roughness was affected significantly (P<.001) by the coating procedure compared to that of the the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Coating with either MAO or HA improved titanium-porcelain adhesion.

Effect of 1-piece post and core fabrication techniques on fracture strength.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate and compare the fracture strengths of post and core systems produced with different fabrication techniques and materials. METHODS: Forty extracted human single-root premolars were used in this study. After root canal treatment, the teeth were randomly divided into 4 groups of 10 each as follows: group C: metallic 1-piece posts and cores fabricated by casting, and serving as the control; group CM: metallic posts and cores fabricated with the copy milled technique; group LS: 1-piece posts and cores fabricated with the laser sintering technique; and group ZR: 1-piece zirconia posts and cores fabricated with computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM). The posts and cores were cemented to the teeth with adhesive resin cement; then, the specimens were mounted to acrylic resin blocks, attached to an Instron Universal Testing Machine, and loaded with a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min, until fracture. Data were statistically analyzed using 1-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), followed by the post hoc Tukey test (α = 0.05). RESULTS: The highest fracture results were found in group ZR (315.4 ± 53.4 N), which showed significant differences from all other groups (p<0.05). The lowest test values were found in group C (230.2 ± 29.8 N). Group LS (250.9 ± 29.0 N), group CM (253.0 ± 22.4 N) and group C did not show any significant differences (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Custom-made zirconia 1-piece posts and cores, fabricated using the CAD-CAM procedure, can be an alternative treatment method when compared with other techniques.

Effect of femtosecond laser treatment on the shear bond strength of a metal bracket to prepared porcelain surface.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of femtosecond laser treatment (Group FS) on the shear bond strength (SBS) of a metal bracket to prepared porcelain surface, and to compare it with other surface treatment techniques [50 µm Al2O3 sandblasting (Group SB), 9.6% hydrofluoric acid gel (Group HF), and neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd:YAG laser) (Group NY)]. BACKGROUND DATA: Because of the increasing number of adult patients in current orthodontic practice, achieving sufficient bond strength of composite resin to porcelain restorations without bond failure during the treatment is a challenge for orthodontists. METHODS: In total, 80 glazed feldspathic porcelain samples were prepared and randomly assigned to four groups of 20. Treated surfaces were treated with a silane agent. Brackets were bonded to porcelain samples. The specimens were stored in distilled water for 24 h and then thermocycled for 500 cycles between 5° and 55°C. The SBS of the brackets was tested with a universal testing machine at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min, until bonding failure occurred. The data were analyzed statistically using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tamhane multiple comparisons tests. The results of ANOVA indicated that the SBS values varied according to the surface treatment method (p<0.001). RESULTS: Results of the Tamhane post-hoc tests indicated that the bond strength in Group NY (5.11±1.53) was significantly lower than the other groups (p<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences among Groups SB (9.07±3.76), HF (9.09±3.51), and FS (11.58±4.16) (p=0.28). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study showed that FS treatment produced high SBS of the processes assessed; therefore, it appears to be an effective method for bonding orthodontic metal brackets to prepared porcelain surfaces.