The Comparison of Different Surface Preparation Methods in Terms of Shear Bond Strength of Tri-ceram Porcelain-titanium Alloy

Objective: Several studies have been made to evaluate effects of the surface preparation on shear bond strength (SBS) of titanium-porcelain complex. However, a completed picture has not been obtained yet. Therefore, such studies appear frequently on recent literature. The purpose of this study is to determine a simple method providing strong SBS and using fewer parameters. Materials and Methods: Sixty titanium samples were equally divided into five groups. Group 1: Control (C). Group 2: Airborne-particle abrasion with 250 mu Al2O3 (250 mu AbPA). Group 3: Etching with 10% HCl (10% HCl). Group 4: Etching with Nd:YAG Laser at 6W (Nd6). Group 5: Etching with Nd:YAG laser at 7 W (Nd7). Results: Mean SBS value of C (10.69 MPa) was close to that of 250 mu AbPA (10.57 MPa). The mean value of 10% HCl (19.37 MPa) was nearly twice higher than C, whereas those of laser groups (8.89 MPa and 8.77 MPa) were smaller than C. There was no overlap between SBS values of samples etched with 10% HCl and those of other samples. Multiple comparisons indicated a significant difference between acid group and others (p=0.00). Laser groups were different from control, too. The failure mode of % HCl group was 67% adhesive and 33% mix, while those of other groups were cohesive or mix. Conclusion: Titanium surfaces etched with 10% HCl provides significantly strong SBS values. This method requires only the use of aqueous solution of 10% HCl, and boiling process for 30 minutes. Such a simplicity suggests that etching with 10% HCl provides a very simple surface preparation method which involves in use of fewer parameters.