Surface treatment for the adhesive cementation of zirconia-based ceramics: a literature review

Abstract

Objective: analyze, through a literature review, the current surface treatments and their effect on the adhesive cementation of zirconia prosthetic parts. Material and Methods: a search was conducted in the PubMed database. The final sample consisted of 31 studies published between 2011 and 2016. Results: zirconia-based ceramics (ZrO2) have important properties, such as chemical durability, high fracture toughness, elastic modulus, and hardness. Despite the difficulty in bonding the surface of ZrO2, resin cements are a good option to bond indirect restorative materials to dental tissues. Hydrofluoric etching and silanation do not improve the bond strength between conventional resin cement and high crystalline content ceramics. For this reason, a different mode of treatment is necessary to provide adequate bond strength. Conclusion: the results of most available studies suggest that blasting and silicatization provide surface roughness and good adhesive strength; however, they induce the transformation of tetragonal/monoclinic phases. The selective infiltration by glass demonstrates no damage to the surface of the ZrO2; more research is needed on this new method.