RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: Many advantages have been attributed to dental zirconia ceramics in terms of mechanical and physical properties; however, the bonding ability of this material to dental structure and/or veneering ceramics has always been a matter of concern. On the other hand, hydroxyapatite (HA) shows excellent biocompatibility and good bonding ability to tooth structure, with mechanically unstable and brittle characteristics, that make it clinically unacceptable for use in high stress bearing areas. The main purpose of this study was to introduce two simple yet practical methods to deposit the crystalline HA nanoparticles on zirconia ceramics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: zirconia blocks were treated with HA via two different deposition methods namely thermal coating and air abrasion. Specimens were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). RESULTS: In both groups, the deposition techniques used were successfully accomplished, while the substrate showed no structural change. However, thermal coating group showed a uniform deposition of crystalline HA but in air abrasion method, there were dispersed thin islands of HA. CONCLUSIONS: Thermal coating method has the potential to significantly alter the surface characteristics of zirconia. The simple yet practical nature of the proposed method may be able to shift the bonding paradigm of dental zirconia ceramics. This latter subject needs to be addressed in future investigations.