Surface treatment with a fractional CO2 laser enhances shear bond strength of resin cement to zirconia.

AIMS

The present study investigated the effect of different surface treatments on shear bond strength (SBS) of resin cement to zirconia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Ninety zirconia blocks were prepared and divided into 6 groups of 15 by treatment. Group 1 served as the control group, whereas groups 2 and 3 were treated with air abrasion and a universal primer (Monobond plus), respectively. The remaining zirconia copings were treated with a fractional CO2 laser for 10 seconds using 10 W/10 mJ (group 4), 10 w/14 mJ (group 5) or 20 W/10 mJ (group 6). A luting cement (Clearfil SA) was bonded to the treated zirconia surfaces and cured for 40 seconds. SBS was measured with a universal testing machine and the type of bond failure was determined.

RESULTS

There was a statistically significant difference in SBS among the study groups (p<0.001). The highest SBS values were observed in the groups treated with the fractional CO2 laser at settings of 20 W/10 mJ (28.1 MPa) or 10 W/14 mJ (27.4 MPa), followed by the specimens treated with the universal primer (22.8 MPa). The control specimens exhibited the lowest SBS (9.4 MPa) among the study groups (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in the distribution of failure modes among the groups (p=0.871).

CONCLUSIONS

The application of fractional CO2 laser can improve bond strength of resin cement to zirconia ceramic, and thus it could be considered as an appropriate alternative to conventional methods of zirconia surface treatment.