Active and Passive Application of the Phosphoric Acid on the Bond Strength of Lithium Disilicate

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of passive or active phosphoric acid (PA) application after hydrofluoric acid (HA) treatment on the microshear bond strength of lithium disilicate. Thirty ceramic discs were made with IPS Emax 2 (10 mm thick and 10 mm diameter). The specimens were divided into 3 groups, A: 9.6% HA application; AF: 9.6% HA application + cleaning with 37% PA in passive mode and AFF: 9.6% HA application + cleaning with 37% PA in active mode. For the microshear test, four tygons (0.9 mm diameter and 0.2 mm high) were filled with resin cement (RelyX Ultimate) and placed on the ceramic disks. After testing, the fracture modes were examined under scanning electron microscopy. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Tukey's post test (α=0.05). The bond strength values were significantly higher in Group AFF (11.0±2.5 MPa) compared with group A (8.1±2.6 MPa) (p<0.002). AF group was not statistically different (9.4±2.5 MPa) from Group A. It was concluded that the active application of 37% PA after 9.6% HA increases the microshear bond strength values between the resin cement and lithium disilicate ceramic.