In vitro evaluation of the bonding of auto-polymerizing soft denture liner to cobalt-chromium alloy

This study evaluated the effects of surface pre-treatments on the bonding of auto-polymerizing silicone soft denture liner to a Co-Cr alloy denture base after cyclic thermal stressing. The bonding surfaces of Co-Cr alloy cylinders (8 mm diameter and 4 mm high) were polished with a 600-grit silicon carbide paper. The bonding surfaces received one of three pre-treatments, which included either the application of a metal primer, a metal primer after air abrasion, or a resin primer after adhesive resin coating. Tensile specimens were fabricated by polymerizing a 2-mm thickness of soft denture liner between a pair of pre-treated denture base cylinders. Failure loads were measured by tensile testing after subjecting the specimen to 0, 5, 10, 20, and 30 thousand thermal cycles. Seven specimens were fabricated for 15 groups, including three pre-treatments and five thermal cycle groups. Failure loads of resin-bonded specimens, which were formerly reported, were used as references. All data were statistically analysed by two-way anova and Bonferroni test at the 95% confidence level. Adhesive resin coating of the metal surface was effective in enhancing the failure loads up to 5000 thermal cycles. However, failure loads of all metal-bonded groups were significantly lower than those of resin-bonded groups at all thermal cycling intervals. The results of this in vitro study implied that polymerizing adhesive resin on the Co-Cr alloy might be a promising method, when the clinicians need to acquire improved bonding of an auto-polymerizing soft denture liner to Co-Cr alloy denture bases.