Effect of Incorporating Zirconia Powder into a Primer on the Resin Bond Strength to Zirconia Ceramic

The adhesion property of zirconia powder-incorporated primers was investigated in vitro with the aim of enhancing the resin bond strength to zirconia ceramic. A commercial zirconia primer was modified through the addition of 0 (control), 5, 10, 25, and 50 wt% of a zirconia powder (codes: ZP0, ZP5, ZP10, ZP25, and ZP50, respectively). Prior to primer modification, the powder was characterized via differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometry. The surfaces of dental zirconia ceramic discs were air-abraded and treated with one of the five primers. One resin composite cylinder (diameter: 2.38 mm) was bonded on one specimen surface (n = 12/group). The bonded specimens were all stored for 24 h in distilled water at 37 degrees C and subjected to 5000 thermal cycles prior to shear bond strength (SBS) testing. The DSC and FTIR analyses confirmed that the zirconia powder contained an organic binder. The SBS test results showed that the groups could be arranged as follows, ZP25 > ZP10 > ZP5 > ZP0, i.e., in descending order of the mean value. The lowest SBS value was obtained for the ZP50 group. The results suggest that the incorporation of a zirconia powder into a primer represents a promising modification method for improving the resin bond strength to zirconia ceramic.