Bond strength of resin cement to ceramic with simplified primers and pretreatment solutions.

Manufacturers have recently introduced surface primers and pretreatment solutions that reportedly simplify the bonding process of resin cements to ceramics through various combinations of etchant and coupling agents. This study evaluated the shear bond strength (SBS) of a resin cement to a lithium disilicate glass-ceramic material pretreated with various new surface treatment solutions and compared the results to those of a control group prepared with the traditional application of hydrofluoric acid (HF) and silane. Resin cement was bonded to pretreated glass-ceramic surfaces, and specimens were tested for SBS after 24 hours of storage in water. Traditional surface treatment of lithium disilicate glass ceramic with HF and silane resulted in a significantly greater mean SBS than did simplified primer solutions. There were no statistically significant differences among the simplified pretreatment groups. In the control group, the majority of failures were due to mixed adhesive-cohesive fracture, while in the simplified treatment groups the failure mode was usually adhesive, suggesting a weaker interface.