Bonding to glass infiltrated alumina ceramic: adhesive methods and their durability

Resin bonding to a glass-infiltrated aluminum oxide ceramic (In-Ceram) cannot be achieved by the methods commonly used for conventional silica-based dental ceramics. This study evaluated the durability of alternative methods of adhesive bonding to In-Ceram ceramic. The tensile bond strength of six bonding systems to In-Ceram ceramic was tested after up to 150 days of storage in isotonic artificial saliva solution and thermal cycling. Sandblasting alone or additional use of a silane did not result in a durable bond of a conventional BIS-GMA composite resin to In-Ceram ceramic. A durable bond to In-Ceram ceramic was achieved with a combination of tribochemical silica coating and conventional BIS-GMA composite resin or with the combination of sandblasting and a composite resin modified with a phosphate monomer. These two chemomechanical bonding methods appeared suitable for clinical bonding of In-Ceram ceramic restorations. A delayed degradation in bond strength was recorded for the combination of thermal silica coating and a conventional BIS-GMA composite resin; no reduction was found after 30 days, but there was a pronounced decrease after 150 days. This degradation indicated that extended storage in a wet environment was needed in laboratory tests to evaluate the durability of chemical bonds.