Surface treatments to improve bond strength in removable partial dentures.

: The metal and resin interface of removable partial dentures is weakened by the poor bond strength between the two materials. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that surface treatments--consisting of air abrasion, with aluminum oxide, tin plating and oxidation, and silanation, either alone or in combination--will improve the bond strength of acrylic resin to metal. Statistical analysis revealed that air abrasion, tin plating/oxidation, and silanation all showed significantly higher bond strength than either abrasion and tin plating, abrasion and silanation, or abrasion alone. Air abrasion demonstrated the greatest effect on improving bond strength. The mean bond strength of samples subjected to a combination of air abrasion, tin plating and oxidation, and silanation was significantly greater than any other combination treatment.