In vitro short-term bonding performance of zirconia treated with hot acid etching and primer conditioning

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate and compare the resin bond strengths of zirconia conditioned as follows: alumina sandblasting; alumina sandblasting+application of 10-MDP-containing primer; alumina sandblasting+application of Z-Prime Plus or Metal/Zirconia Primer (new zirconia primers); tribochemical silica coating+silanization; hot acid etching in three different combinations [H2SO4/(NH4)2SO4, HF/HNO3, H2SO4/HF/HNO3]+application of 10-MDP-containing primer. Shear bond strengths (SBS) after water storage for 24 h and 40 days were measured to assess resin bonding performance. Surface and chemical properties of conditioned zirconia surfaces and primers were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Surface roughness ranked in descending order was: hot acid etching > tribochemical silica coating > alumina sandblasting. Combination of tribochemical silica coating and silanization showed the highest initial SBS (12.46±2.13 MPa) (P<0.01). Etching with H2SO4/(NH4)2SO4 (13.15±3.24 MPa) and HF/HNO3 (13.48±2.15 MPa) showed significantly better bond durability (P<0.01). Hot acid etching seemed to be a promising surface roughening treatment to improve resin-zirconia bonding.