Influence of silanization on early bond strength to sandblasted densely sintered alumina.

OBJECTIVE: The increased popularity of alumina-based restorations has resulted in an interest in proper adhesive techniques to assure a strong and predictable bond to these restorations. This study investigated the early bond strength of three different resin-cement systems to densely sintered alumina (aluminum-oxide ceramic) with and without the use of their corresponding silane coupling agent (silanization). METHOD AND MATERIALS: Ninety samples of densely sintered high-purity aluminum-oxide ceramic were randomly divided into three groups. Composite cylinders were bonded to the ceramic samples with three resin-cement/bonding-agent systems: Noribond DC (NOR), Panavia 21 EX (PAN), and Variolink II (VAR). Each resin-cement/bonding-agent system was used with and without their corresponding silane (SIL) coupling agent (n = 15). After fabrication, the specimens were stored in distilled water for 3 days at room temperature, and shear bond strength was tested. RESULTS: Application of the silane-coupling agent on sandblasted densely sintered alumina did not significantly influence bond strengths with PAN. Silanization significantly improved shear bond strengths with NOR and VAR. NOR-SIL and VAR-SIL revealed the statistically highest values, with NOR-SIL showing the highest mean bond strength of all groups. CONCLUSIONS: Silanization of sandblasted densely sintered alumina had mixed effects on the applied resin cements: It had no effect on the performance of the phosphate-modified resin cement PAN, but significantly improved shear bond strength of the Bis-GMA composite resin cements VAR and NOR. NOR-SIL revealed the highest overall mean bond strength.

Long-term resin bond to densely sintered aluminum oxide ceramic.

BACKGROUND: Densely sintered aluminium oxide ceramic is a popular material for ceramic copings and all-ceramic restorations. A strong, predictable, and long-term durable resin bond is key for long-term clinical success of bonded alumina-based restorations. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to measure and compare in vitro shear bond strengths of three resin cements with and without their corresponding silane coupling/bonding agent to air particle- abraded densely sintered aluminum oxide ceramic after long-term water storage and thermocycling. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Composite resin cylinders were bonded to air particle-abraded samples of densely sintered aluminum oxide ceramic with Noribond DC (Noritake Dental Supply, Inc., Aichi, Japan), Panavia 21 EX (Kuraray, Osaka, Japan), and Variolink II (Ivoclar Vivadent, Schaan, Liechtenstein), which were used with and without their corresponding silane coupling and bonding agents (n = 15). All specimens (N = 90) were stored for 180 days in water and subjected to repeated thermocycling for a total of 12,000 cycles before shear bond strength was tested. Data were analyzed with the Kruskal-Wallis test and the Wilcoxon two-sample rank sum test at the 5% level of significance. RESULTS: Most groups had no or only minimal bond strength to densely sintered alumina after simulated aging. Panavia had the highest bond strength without silane/bonding agent application. Noribond with its silane/bonding agent revealed the highest overall bond strength, which was significantly greater than that of either Variolink or Panavia after silanization. CONCLUSIONS: Resin cements revealed significantly different bond strengths, and the use of silane coupling and bonding agents had various effects on the resin bond to pure densely sintered alumina. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Selection of the proper cement/bonding system is fundamental to clinical long-term success of bonded alumina-based restorations. Noribond with its bonding agent and ceramic primer seem to fulfill these requirements under clinically relevant testing conditions.