Ceramic repair: influence of chemical and mechanical surface conditioning on adhesion to zirconia.

Aims: To evaluate the influence of mechanical surface treatment and chemical primer application on the composite shear bond strength to zirconia.

Methods: Eighty blocks of Lava Frame Zirconia were randomly assigned to the experimental groups, according to the several possible combinations between mechanical (untreated/aluminum oxide sandblast) and chemical treatment (no primer/Monobond Plus/Experimental Zirkon-Primer/Z-Prime Plus) (n=10). Adhesive system and composite resin were then applied, and samples were thermal cycled (5°C-55°C, 500 cycles).