Challenging the Resin-Zirconia Interface by Thermal Cycling or Mechanical Load Cycling or Their Combinations

The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the influence of mechanical load cycling (MLC), which simulated mastication, alone or combined with thermal cycling (TC), on the resin shear bond strength (SBS) to zirconia. Two resin cements (Panavia F2.0 and RelyX U200) were bonded (bonding area: 2.38 mm) to air-abraded zirconia (Everest ZS-Ronde). The specimens were subjected to SBS test before and after TC (5000 cycles), MLC (5000 cycles in 37 degrees C water), TC/MLC, or MLC/TC aging (n = 15). Before SBS test, the mechanical and physical properties of the two resin cements were studied (n = 5). For both resins, unlike TC (p > 0.05), the three MLC-containing aging conditions significantly decreased the SBS values when compared to the non-aged condition (p < 0.05). In the case of MLC-only aging, RelyX U200, with significantly higher hydrophobicity (p = 0.004), showed a significantly higher SBS value than Panavia F2.0 (p = 0.035). The MLC aging-containing groups showed increased occurrence of mixed failure. The application of MLC combined with TC may more closely simulate intraoral conditions.