Long‐Term Resin Bond to Densely Sintered Aluminum Oxide Ceramic

ABSTRACT Background: Densely sintered aluminium oxide ceramic is a popular material for ceramic copings and all‐ceramic restorations. A strong, predictable, and long‐term durable resin bond is key for long‐term clinical success of bonded alumina‐based restorations. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to measure and compare in vitro shear bond strengths of three resin cements with and without their corresponding silane coupling/bonding agent to air particle‐abraded densely sintered aluminum oxide ceramic after long‐term water storage and thermocycling. Materials and Methods: Composite resin cylinders were bonded to air particle‐abraded samples of densely sintered aluminum oxide ceramic with Noribond DC® (Noritake Dental Supply, Inc., Aichi, Japan), Panavia 21® EX (Kuraray, Osaka, Japan), and Variolink II® (Ivoclar Vivadent, Schaan, Liechtenstein), which were used with and without their corresponding silane coupling and bonding agents (n= 15). All specimens (N= 90) were stored for 180 days in water and subjected to repeated thermocycling for a total of 12,000 cycles before shear bond strength was tested. Data were analyzed with the Kruskal‐Wallis test and the Wilcoxon two‐sample rank sum test at the 5% level of significance. Results: Most groups had no or only minimal bond strength to densely sintered alumina after simulated aging. Panavia had the highest bond strength without silane/bonding agent application. Noribond with its silane/bonding agent revealed the highest overall bond strength, which was significantly greater than that of either Variolink or Panavia after silanization. Conclusions: Resin cements revealed significantly different bond strengths, and the use of silane coupling and bonding agents had various effects on the resin bond to pure densely sintered alumina.CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCESelection of the proper cement/bonding system is fundamental to clinical long‐term success of bonded alumina‐based restorations. Noribond with its bonding agent and ceramic primer seem to fulfill these requirements under clinically relevant testing conditions.