A bond strength study of luted castable ceramic restorations

Area of Science:

• Dental Materials Science
• Biomaterials Engineering
• Restorative Dentistry

Background:

• Accurate intracoronal castings require reliable luting cements.
• DICOR, a castable ceramic, necessitates evaluation of compatible luting agents.
• Limited data exists on the bond strength of various cements to DICOR, enamel, and dentin.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate and compare the bond strength of three glass-ionomer luting cements and one resin cement.
• To assess bond strengths to treated and untreated DICOR, enamel, and dentin substrates.
• To determine the efficacy of surface treatments in enhancing cement-substrate adhesion.

Main Methods:

• Investigated bond strengths of four luting cements (three glass-ionomers, one resin) to DICOR, enamel, and dentin.
• Utilized grit-blasting and acid-etching/silane coating for DICOR surface treatment.
• Applied acid-etching and polyacrylic acid preconditioning for enamel and dentin treatments.

Main Results:

• Resin cement exhibited significantly higher bond strengths to DICOR (9.4 MN/m²) and etched enamel (10.7 MN/m²) compared to glass-ionomer cements (DICOR: 0.8-1.2 MN/m²; enamel: 0.4-0.9 MN/m²).
• Surface preconditioning significantly increased glass-ionomer bond strengths to enamel and dentin (p < 0.05).
• Resin cement showed higher bond strength to untreated dentin (4.3 MN/m²) than glass-ionomers (1.0-3.3 MN/m²).

Conclusions:

• Resin cements offer superior bond strengths to DICOR and etched enamel, indicating promising clinical performance.
• Surface treatments are crucial for optimizing glass-ionomer cement adhesion to dental substrates.
• Selected surface preparation protocols enhance the clinical viability of luting cements for intracoronal restorations.