Microtensile bond strength of composite resin to glass-infiltrated alumina composite conditioned with Er,Cr:YSGG laser

Tribochemical silica-coating is the recommended conditioning method for improving glass-infiltrated alumina composite adhesion to resin cement.High-intensity lasers have been considered as an alternative for this purpose. This study evaluated the morphological effects of Er,Cr:YSGG laser irradiation on aluminous ceramic, and verified themicrotensile bond strength of composite resin to ceramic following silica coating or laser irradiation. In-Ceram Alumina ceramic blocks were polished, submitted to airborne particle abrasion (110 ƒتm Al2O3), and conditioned with: (CG) tribochemical silica coating (110 ƒتm SiO2) + silanization (control group); (L1-L10) Er,Cr:YSGG laser (2.78 ƒتm, 20 Hz, 0.5 to 5.0 W) + silanization. Composite resin blocks were cemented to the ceramic blocks with resin cement. These sets were stored in 37پ‹C distilled water (24 h), embedded in acrylic resin, and sectioned to produce bar specimens that were submitted to microtensile testing. Bond strength values (MPa) were statistically analyzed (ƒ؟ .0.05), and failure modes were determined. Additional ceramic blocks were conditioned for qualitative analysis of the topography under SEM. There were no significant differences among silicatization and laser treatments (p>0.05). Microtensile bond strength ranged from 19.2 to 27.9 MPa, and coefficients of variation ranged from 30 to 55%. Mixed failure of adhesive interface was predominant in all groups (75.96%). No chromatic alteration, cracks or melting were observed after laser irradiation with all parameters tested. Surface conditioning of glassinfiltrated alumina composite with Er,Cr:YSGG laser should be considered an innovative alternative for promoting adhesion of ceramics to resin cement, since it resulted in similar bond strength values compared to the tribochemical treatment.