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