The Influence of Alumina Airborne-Particle Abrasion with Various Sizes of Alumina Particles on the Phase Transformation and Fracture Resistance of Zirconia-Based Dental Ceramics

The surface of zirconia-based dental ceramic restorations require preparation prior to adhesive cementation. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of airborne-particle abrasion with different sizes of alumina particles (50 μm, 110 μm, or 250 μm) on the mechanical strength of zirconia-based ceramics' frameworks and on the extent of phase transformations. A fracture resistance test was performed. The central surface of the frameworks was subjected to a load [N]. The identification and quantitative determination of the crystalline phase present in the zirconia specimens was assessed using X-ray diffraction. The Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance was used to establish significance (α = 0.05). The fracture resistance of zirconia-based frameworks significantly increases with an increase in the size of alumina particles used for air abrasion: 715.5 N for 250 μm alumina particles, 661.1 N for 110 μm, 608.7 N for 50 μm and the lowest for the untreated specimens (364.2 N). The X-ray diffraction analysis showed an increase in the monoclinic phase content after air abrasion: 50 μm alumina particles-26%, 110 μm-40%, 250 μm-56%, and no treatment-none. Air abrasion of the zirconia-based dental ceramics' surface with alumina particles increases the fracture resistance of zirconia copings and the monoclinic phase volume. This increase is strongly related to the alumina particle size.

The Effect of Surface Treatments on Zirconia Bond Strength and Durability

To evaluate the effects of airborne particle abrasion (APA) combined with MDP-containing resin cement, a glass-ceramic spray deposition (GCSD) method on the shear bond strengths (SBSs) and durability of 3 mol% yttrium oxide-stabilized zirconia ceramic (3Y-TZP) compared with lithium disilicate glass ceramics (LDGC). 3Y-TZP disks were randomly treated as follows: for Group APA+MDP, 3Y-TZP was abrased using 50 μm Al₂O₃ particles under 0.1 Mpa and bonded with MDP-containing resin cement; for Group GCSD, 3Y-TZP was treated with the GCSD method, etched by 5% HF for 90 s, silanized and bonded with resin cement without MDP. Group LDGC was bonded as the Group GCSD. X-ray diffraction (XRD), attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray detector (EDX) were used to analyze the surface chemical and micro-morphological changes of the ceramics before bonding. The bonded ceramic specimens were randomly divided into subgroups, and the SBSs were determined before and after 10,000 thermocycling. The SBSs were analyzed with a one-way ANOVA analysis. Failure modes were determined with optical microscopy and SEM. The XRD, ATR-FTIR and XPS results identified the formation of lithium disilicate and zirconium silicate on 3Y-TZP after GCSD. The SEM micrographs revealed that 3Y-TZP surfaces were roughened by APA, while 3Y-TZP with GCSD and LDGC surfaces could be etched by HF to be porous. The APA treatment combined with MDP-containing resin cement produced the high immediate zirconia shear bond strengths (SBSs: 37.41 ± 13.51 Mpa) that was similar to the SBSs of the LDGC (34.87 ± 11.02 Mpa, p > 0.05), but, after thermocycling, the former dramatically decreased (24.00 ± 6.86 Mpa, maximum reduction by 35.85%) and the latter exhibited the highest SBSs (30.72 ± 7.97 Mpa, minimum reduction by 11.9%). The 3Y-TZP with GCSD treatment displayed the lower zirconia SBSs before thermocycling (27.03 ± 9.76 Mpa, p < 0.05), but it was similar to the 3Y-TZP treated with APA and MDP containing resin cement after thermocycling (21.84 ± 7.03 vs. 24.00 ± 6.86 Mpa, p > 0.05). The APA combined with MDP-containing resin cement could achieve the high immediate zirconia SBSs of those of the LDGC, but it decreased significantly after thermocycling. The GCSD technique could yield the immediate zirconia SBSs similar to those of LDGC before thermocycling, and long-term zirconia SBSs were similar to those of 3Y-TZP treated with APA followed by MDP-containing resin cement after thermocycling. Hence, the GCSD technique could enrich zirconia surface treatments and is an alternative to zirconia surface pretreatment for 3Y-TZP bond durability.

Effect of Fiber Reinforcement on the Flexural Strength of the Transitional Implant-Supported Fixed Dental Prosthesis

PURPOSE

The aim of this in vitro study was to assess the efficacy of fiber reinforcement to enhance flexural strength of the transitional implant-supported fixed dental prosthesis (TISFDP).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

One hundred and forty denture acrylic resin plates (64 mm × 12 mm × 5 mm) with two 7 mm diameter holes were fabricated using heat-polymerized type (Lucitone 199) and CAD-CAM prepolymerized type (AvaDent) materials to simulate a chair-side reconstruction of the TISFDP. Specimens were divided into 7 groups (n = 10) according to the airborne-particle abrasion of titanium cylinder (Straumann) surface and locations of fiber reinforcement ribbons (Ribbond-ULTRA). No cylinder surface abrasion and no fiber added acrylate specimens were used as the controls. The prosthetic screws were hand-tightened on a custom fixture with analogs. Specimen hole and cylinder were joined using a 50:50 mixture of chemically polymerized resin (QYK-SET; Holmes Dental) and repair resin (Dentsply Sirona). Ten acrylate specimens with no holes were fabricated from each tested material and assigned as positive controls. A modified four-point bending test (ASTM standard-D6272) was conducted using a universal testing machine and a custom fixture with a crosshead speed 1 mm/min. The maximum failure loads were recorded. Data were statistically analyzed using 2-way ANOVA and the Tukey tests at α = 0.05.

RESULTS

The flexural strength values ranged from 55.4 ±8.3 to 140.9 ±15.4 MPa. The flexural strength decreased significantly when fiber was attached on the titanium cylinder surface (p < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in flexural strength values between specimens with and without titanium cylinder surface abrasion (p > 0.05). Statistically significant improvement in flexural strength was observed in specimens with fibers attached around the specimen holes (p < 0.05) buccally and lingually. The obtained values were not statistically significantly different from the positive controls (p > 0.05). Some fixation screw fractures were observed before catastrophic failure of specimens during testing.

CONCLUSIONS

Fiber reinforcement significantly improved the flexural strength of denture acrylic resins only if placed around the specimen holes on the tension side at the site of initiation of crack propagation. Even when the specimens underwent catastrophic failure, the segments remained attached to each other with the attached fibers.

Effects of Surface Pretreatments on Bond Strength and Morphology of Aprismatic Enamel

PURPOSE

To evaluate the effect of different pretreatment protocols and adhesives on the shear bond strength and surface morphology of aprismatic enamel.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Human maxillary incisors (N = 120) were assigned to five different groups according to pretreatment: 1) no treatment; 2) glycine; 3) sodium bicarbonate; 4) Al2O3 and 5) extra-fine bur. Then the teeth were divided into three subgroups, according to the adhesive applied: 3-step etch-and-rinse (ER), universal adhesive in ER mode, and universal adhesive in self-etch (SE) mode. Shear bond strength (SBS) testing was performed with a universal testing machine. For SEM observation, fifteen human molars were collected and analyzed after pretreatment with/without etching with 37% H3PO4 for 30s.

RESULTS

Al2O3 showed higher SBS than all other groups considered. Comparable SBS values were obtained for other pretreatments. Universal adhesive in E&R mode performed better than did 3-step E&R and universal adhesive in SE mode. SEM images showed visible differences in enamel surface roughness.

CONCLUSIONS

Airborne-particle abrasion with Al2O3 followed by etching with H3PO4 increased SBS on aprismatic enamel. The combination of airborne-particle abrasion with alumina powder followed by 15 s of H3PO4 etching and application of a universal adhesive in E&R mode proved to be the most effective adhesive protocol.

Influence of cement shade, ceramic thickness, and airborne-particle abrasion of titanium surface on the final color of monolithic lithium disilicate glass-ceramic hybrid-abutment systems in vitro

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the influence of the ceramic thickness, cement shade, and airborne-particle abrasion of the titanium on the final color of titanium base cemented lithium disilicate glass-ceramic restorations.

METHOD AND MATERIALS

In total, 144 lithium disilicate glass-ceramic disks of three thicknesses (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mm) were cemented to airborne-particle-abraded and non-airborne-particle-abraded titanium disks with six adhesive resin cements. The color measurements were performed with a clinical spectrophotometer. The mean and standard deviation of evaluated ΔE values were calculated. A three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for analyzing the data. Statistical analyses were computed with a significance level of α = .05 using a statistical software program (Minitab 17, Minitab).

RESULTS

The 0.5- and 1-mm-thick ceramic specimens cemented with Panavia V5 Opaque showed the lowest ΔE values when cemented on both non-airborne-particle-abraded (5.62 ± 1.66, 3.15 ± 1.28) and airborne-particle-abraded (5.55 ± 0.86, 3.16 ± 0.49) surfaces, while the highest values were seen in the groups cemented with RelyX U200 A2 (29.22 ± 0.83, 17.23 ± 0.45) and Panavia V5 A2 (29.94 ± 1.17, 16.71 ± 0.44) on airborne-particle-abraded surfaces. For the 1.5-mm-thick ceramics, the lowest ΔE values were seen when Multilink MO 0 cement was used on non-airborne-particle-abraded surfaces (1.56 ± 0.29) and when Panavia V5 Opaque was used on airborne-particle-abraded surfaces (1.56 ± 0.66). The highest values were seen when RelyX U200 A2 (9.77 ± 1.13), PA2 (9.24 ± 0.25), and Multilink HO 0 (9.19 ± 1.33) were used on airborne-particle-abraded surfaces, and when Multilink HO 0 (9.61 ± 1.70) was used on non-airborne-particle-abraded surfaces. The 1-mm-thick ceramics cemented with Multilink HO 0 showed higher ΔE values (12.05 ± 1.99) for airborne-particle-abraded and non-airborne-particle-abraded (12.58 ± 1.06) than thinner (0.5 mm) or thicker (1.5 mm) ceramics.

CONCLUSION

Thinnest ceramic superstructures resulted in the highest ΔE values. Cements that mask the underlying color reflect their own shade under thin superstructures. Airborne-particle abrasion of titanium surfaces increases the grayish reflectance if cement shade does not have the color masking ability.

The Influence of Material Type and Hardness on the Number of Embedded Abrasive Particles during Airborne-Particle Abrasion

(1) Background: This paper aims to determine the influence of hardness on the number of abrasive material grains (SiC) embedded on the surface metal alloys and ZrO₂ during abrasion. (2) Methods: Cylindrical samples were created: 315 made of Cr/Co, Ni/Cr or Ti, and 315 made of sintered ZrO₂- 3TPZ-Y. These were divided into four groups (each n = 35 samples), and were treated with SiC grain sizes 50, 110, and 250 µm at pressures 0.2, 0.4, or 0.6 MPa. The samples were then observed in SEM to study SE and BSE. The surface coverage of abrasive material particles was determined by quantitative metallography. Five samples from each group were subjected to hardness measurements. The results were compared with three-factor variance analysis with using the post hoc Tukey test. (3) Results: The highest amount (40.06) of embedded abrasive was obtained for Ti alloy with a gradation of 250µm at a pressure of 0.6 MPa. The smallest amount of embedded grain (2.66) was obtained for ZrO₂ for the same treatment parameters. (4) Conclusions: The amount of embedded abrasive particles depends on the type of treated material, gradation particles, and the amount of applied pressure. Harder treated materials are more resistant to grains of abrasive becoming embedded on surface.

Effect of Airborne-Particle Abrasion Protocols and MDP-based Primer on the Bond Strength of Highly Translucent Zirconia

PURPOSE

To evaluate the effects of airborne-particle abrasion and MDP (methacryloyloxydecyl dihydrogen phosphate)-based primer treatment on the strength of resin bonds to highly translucent zirconia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Eight groups (n = 20 per group) of specimens were prepared with airborne-particle abrasion treatments (0.1-, 0.3-, or 0.6-MPa pressure) or not (untreated control) and MDP-based primer (treated) or not (untreated). Shear bond strength (SBS) tests were performed on the composite-to-ceramic bonded specimens either with or without thermocycling. After airborne-particle abrasion, the surface topography was evaluated by white light interferometry, and a phase analysis was conducted with x-ray diffraction (XRD). Surface roughness (Ra), surface energy (SE), and SBS measurements were statistically analyzed using either Tukey's HSD or the Kruskal-Wallis test, based on applicability. Lastly, the failure mode was observed by optical microscope and scanning electron microscope.

RESULTS

Airborne-particle abrasion resulted in significantly larger Ra (p < 0.05), especially with higher treatment pressures. Treatment with MDP-based primer caused significantly higher SE and SBS than airborne-particle abrasion alone (p < 0.05), both with and without aging.

CONCLUSION

MDP-based primer can enhance the bond strength and reduce hydrolytic aging of the bonded interface for highly translucent zirconia, exceeding the effects of airborne-particle abrasion. It is recommended that MDP-based primer treatment be applied with a composite cement containing adhesive phosphate monomer.

Effect of air-abrasion at pre- and/or post-sintered stage and hydrothermal aging on surface roughness, phase transformation, and flexural strength of multilayered monolithic zirconia

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of air-abrasion/sintering order and autoclave aging on the surface roughness (Ra), phase transformation, and biaxial flexural strength (BFS) of monolithic zirconia. A total of 104 monolithic zirconia specimens (Katana ML) were divided into eight groups according to airborne-particle abrasion protocols and hydrothermal aging: control (non-aged: C-, aged: C+), air-abrasion before sintering (BS-, BS+), air-abrasion after sintering (AS-, AS+), and air-abrasion before and after sintering (BAS-, BAS+). A steam autoclave was used for accelerated aging, and Ra values were measured with a surface profilometer. All specimens were analyzed by X-ray diffraction to determine any phase transformation on the zirconia surface. BFS was measured by using the piston-on-three-balls method. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were performed on one specimen per group. BS and BAS groups showed higher Ra values compared with groups C and AS. The aging process significantly increased the monoclinic phase content of all specimens. Lower monoclinic levels were found in AS+ and BAS+ compared with other aged groups. The AS groups exhibited higher flexural strength values relative to control groups, whereas BS groups exhibited significantly lower flexural strength values (p < .05). There was no reduction in flexural strength by using the BAS protocol. Air-abrasion of zirconia at the pre-sintered stage only is not recommended in clinical use because of the remarkable decrease in flexural strength.

How will surface conditioning methods influence the translucency and color properties of CAD-CAM resin-matrix ceramics with different thicknesses?

OBJECTIVE

It was aimed to evaluate the effect of various surface-conditioning methods on the translucency and color properties of resin-matrix ceramics (RMCs) with different types and thicknesses.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Rectangle-shaped RMCs were prepared from Voco Grandio, Brilliant Crios, Lava Ultimate, GC Cerasmart, and Vita Enamic blocks at 0.5 and 1.0 mm thicknesses. Specimens were divided into four groups: control, airborne-particle abrasion (APA), 2 and 3 W Er, Cr:YSGG laser irradiations (L^2W , L^3W ) (n = 15). The color values of specimens were recorded before and after surface-conditioning using a spectrophotometer. The translucency parameter (RTP₀₀ ) and color difference (ΔE₀₀ ) values were calculated. Data were statistically analyzed using three-way ANOVA and Tukey post hoc tests.

RESULTS

The translucencies of RMCs decreased after all surface-conditioning procedures. L caused more decline in translucency of materials than APA. All ΔE₀₀ values were under the acceptability threshold except for APA-applied Voco Grandio at 0.5 mm. Differences in ΔE₀₀ values between APA and L^3W groups were significant (P˂0.05); while differences between L^2W and L^3W groups were insignificant (P > .05). In all experimental groups, ΔE₀₀ values decreased with increasing thickness of RMCs.

CONCLUSIONS

L and APA significantly affected the translucency and color properties of RMCs. APA was found more favorable than L.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Clinicians should carefully use surface conditioning methods, considering their impact on the optical characteristics of RMCs, especially when the restoration is thin.

Effect of the Surface Treatment Method Using Airborne-Particle Abrasion and Hydrofluoric Acid on the Shear Bond Strength of Resin Cement to Zirconia

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the shear bond strength (SBS) of two different resin cements (Panavia F 2.0 (Kuraray Medical Inc, Okayama, Japan) and Variolink N (Ivoclar Vivadent AG, Schaan, Liechtenstein)) to 112 zirconia specimens with airborne-particle abrasion and 20%, 30%, or 40% hydrofluoric acid (HF) for 1 or 2 h. A total of eight specimens were used to observe the phase transformation after surface treatments. Six specimens were treated only with HF etching and the average surface roughness (Ra) was analyzed. A one-way ANOVA test was applied for SBS and the effect of HF concentration on Ra. An independent t-test was performed for the comparison of Panavia F 2.0 and Variolink N, and the influence of the HF application time on Ra. A higher HF solution increased SBS and Ra. HF etching produced a lower rate of monoclinic phase transformation. Panavia F 2.0 showed a higher SBS than Variolink N.

Comparison of shear test methods for evaluating the bond strength of resin cement to zirconia ceramic

OBJECTIVE

This study compared the sensitivity of three shear test methods for measuring the shear bond strength (SBS) of resin cement to zirconia ceramic and evaluated the effects of surface treatment methods on the bonding.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Polished zirconia ceramic (Cercon base, DeguDent) discs were randomly divided into four surface treatment groups: no treatment (C), airborne-particle abrasion (A), conditioning with Alloy primer (Kuraray Medical Co.) (P) and conditioning with Alloy primer after airborne-particle abrasion (AP). The bond strengths of the resin cement (Multilink N, Ivoclar Vivadent) to the zirconia specimens of each surface treatment group were determined by three SBS test methods: the conventional SBS test with direct filling of the mold (Ø 4 mm × 3 mm) with resin cement (Method 1), the conventional SBS test with cementation of composite cylinders (Ø 4 mm × 3 mm) using resin cement (Method 2) and the microshear bond strength (μSBS) test with cementation of composite cylinders (Ø 0.8 mm × 1 mm) using resin cement (Method 3).

RESULTS

Both the test method and the surface treatment significantly influenced the SBS values. In Method 3, as the SBS values increased, the coefficients of variation decreased and the Weibull parameters increased. The AP groups showed the highest SBS in all of the test methods. Only in Method 3 did the P group show a higher SBS than the A group.

CONCLUSIONS

The μSBS test was more sensitive to differentiating the effects of surface treatment methods than the conventional SBS tests. Primer conditioning was a stronger contributing factor for the resin bond to zirconia ceramic than was airborne-particle abrasion.