Shear Bond Strength of Metal brackets to Zirconia Treated with Er:YAG Laser Sandblasting and Silane

Background and Aim: Application of zirconia ceramics has increased. Since the commonly used surface treatment for porcelain, i.e. acid etching is not efficient for zirconia surfaces, evaluation of other surface treatment methods for zirconia is important. The aim of this study was to compare the shear bond strength (SBS) of metal brackets to zirconia treated with different powers of Er:YAG laser, sandblasting and silane. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, five blocks of 3 mol% yttria stabilized tetragonal zirconia ceramics (3Y-TZP-A) were cut into small cubes. After the sintering process, 72 samples were assigned to six groups (n=12). The first group did not receive any surface treatment. The second, third and fourth groups were irradiated with Er:YAG laser with 1.5 W (150 mJ), 2.5 W (250 mJ) and 3 W (300 mJ) powers, respectively in a long pulse mode for 20 seconds. The samples in the fifth group were sandblasted. The sixth group samples were silanized. After bonding of brackets to the samples, they were stored in distilled water, thermocycled and their SBS was measured by a universal testing machine. Mode of failure was assessed by a stereomicroscope. Results: The SBS of brackets to zirconia in groups one to six was 0.31±0.23, 0.51±0.14, 1.11 ±0.40, 3.32±1.52, 9.5±2.99 and 3.88±2.20 MPa, respectively. ANOVA revealed a significant difference among the six groups. Tamhane’s test showed that the SBS in group five was significantly higher than that in the other groups. Bond failure occurred at the adhesive/zirconia interface in all groups. Conclusion: Surface treatment of zirconia with sandblasting provided appropriate bond strength of brackets for clinical applications. But, Er:YAG laser and silane did not create sufficient SBS to zirconia surfaces.