Surface characterisation and bonding of Y-TZP following non-thermal plasma treatment.

Objectives: (1) To chemically characterise Y-TZP surface via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and evaluate the surface energy levels (SE) after non-thermal plasma (NTP). (2) To test the microtensile bond strength (MTBS) of Y-TZP bonded to cured composite disks, after a combination of different surface conditioning methods.

Methods: Twenty-four Y-TZP discs (13.5mm×4mm) were obtained from the manufacturer and composite resin (Z-100) discs with similar dimensions were prepared. All discs were polished to 600 grit and divided into 8 groups (n=3 disks each), four control (non-NTP treated) and four experimental (NTP treated for 10s) groups. All groups received one of the four following treatments prior to cementation with Rely×Unicem cement: sand-blasting (SB), a Clearfil ceramic primer (MDP), sand-blasting+MDP (SBMDP), or baseline (B), no treatment. SE readings and surface roughness parameters were statistically analysed (ANOVA, Tukey's, p<0.05). Mixed model and paired samples t-tests were used to compare groups on MTBS.

Results: XPS showed increase in O and decrease in C elements after NTP. The polar component increased for BP (42.20mN/m) and SBP (43.77mN/m). MTBS values for groups BP (21.3MPa), SBP (31MPa), MDPP (30.1MPa) and SBMDPP (32.3MPa) were significantly higher in specimens treated with NTP than their untreated counterparts B (9.1MPa), SB (14.4MPa), MDP (17.8MPa) and SBMDP (24.1MPa).

Conclusions: (1) Increase of O and decrease of C led to higher surface energy levels dictated by the polar component after NTP; (2) NTP application increased MTBS values of Y-TZP surfaces.