Repair bond strength of composite resin to zirconia restorations after different thermal cycles

PURPOSE: This in vitro study investigated the repair bond strength of the zirconia ceramic after different aging conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In order to imitate the failure modes of veneered zirconia restorations, veneer ceramic, zirconia, and veneer ceramic-zirconia specimens were prepared and were divided into 4 subgroups as: control (37℃ distilled water for 24 hours ) and 3000, 6000, 12000 thermal cycling groups (n=15). Then, specimens were bonded to composite resin using a porcelain repair kit according to the manufacturer recommendation. The repair bond strength (RBS) test was performed using a universal testing machine (0.5 mm/min). Failure types were analyzed under a stereomicroscope. Two-way ANOVA and Bonferroni test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The RBS values of zirconia specimens were statistically significant and higher than veneer ceramic and veneer ceramic-zirconia specimens in control, 3000 and 6000 thermal cycling groups (P<.05). When 12000 thermal cycles were applied, the highest value was found in zirconia specimens but there was no statistically significant difference between veneer ceramic and veneer ceramic-zirconia specimens (P>.05). Veneer ceramic specimens exhibited cohesive failure types, zirconia specimens exhibited adhesive failure types, and veneer ceramic-zirconia specimens exhibited predominately mixed failure types. CONCLUSION: Thermal cycling can adversely affect RBS of composite resin bınded to level of fractured zirconia ceramics.