effects of different surface treatment methods and mdp monomer on resin cementation of zirconia ceramics an in vitro study

introduction: resin cements are generally preferred for cementation of zirconia ceramics. resin bonding of zirconia ceramics cannot be done with the same methods of traditional ceramics because zirconia is a silica-free material. in recent years, many methods have been reported in the literature to provide the resin bonding of zirconia ceramics. the purpose of this in vitro study is to evaluate effects of different surface treatments and 10-metacryloxydecyl dihydrogen phosphate (mdp) monomer on shear bond strength between zirconia and resin cement. methods: 120 zirconia specimens were treated as follows: group i: sandblasting, group ii: sandblasting + tribochemical silica coating + silane, group iii: sandblasting + nd:yag (neodymium: yttrium-aluminum-garnet) laser. one specimen from each group was evaluated under scanning electron microscope (sem). specimens in each group were bonded either with conventional resin cement variolink ii or with a mdp containing resin cement panavia f2.0. subgroups of bonded specimens were stored in distilled water (37°c) for 24 hours or 14 days. following water storage shear bond strength test was performed at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min in a universal test machine. then statistical analyses were performed. results: highest shear bond strength values were observed in group ii. no significant difference between group i and iii was found when panavia f2.0 resin cement was used. when variolink ii resin cement was used group iii showed significantly higher bond strength than group i. in group i, panavia f2.0 resin cement showed statistically higher shear bond strength than variolink ii resin cement. in group ii no significant difference was found between resin cements. no significant difference was found between specimens stored in 37°c distilled water for 24 hours and 14 days. in group i surface irregularities with sharp edges and grooves were observed. in group ii less roughened surface was observed with silica particles. in group iii surface microcracks connecting each other were observed. conclusion: tribochemical silica coating is an effective method for achieving an acceptable bond between zirconia and resin cement. use of a mdp monomer containing resin cement increases the bond strength of sandblasted zirconia.