Influence of inorganic filler content of resin luting agents and use of adhesive on the performance of bonded ceramic

Statement of problem. The inorganic filler of resin-based luting agents and the use of an adhesive layer could influence the bonding ability, mechanical performance, and interface morphology of bonded feldspathic ceramic. Purpose. The purpose of this in vitro study was to investigate the influence of resin-based luting agents loaded with different inorganic filler content, with or without an adhesive, on microtensile bond strength, biaxial flexural strength, and the adhesive interface morphology of bonded ceramic specimens. Material and methods. Experimental resin-based luting agents with low (55wt%), intermediate (65wt%), and high (75wt%) filler contents were bonded to ceramic specimens, with or without a layer of adhesive. The resin-based luting agents were characterized by measuring viscosity, elastic modulus, Poisson ratio, and degree of conversion (n=3 for each test). The response variables for the bonded ceramic specimens were ceramic-resin microtensile bond strength (n=30), biaxial flexural strength (n=30) and characteristic strength, and Weibull modulus. Scanning electron microscopy was used for fractographic and interface analyses of the specimens fractured in the microtensile test (n=3). Data were subjected to ANOVA with the post hoc Tukey test (a=.05). Weibull moduli were also calculated. Results. Increased inorganic filler content yielded significantly higher viscosity, stiffness, and film thickness. However, the Poisson ratio and degree of conversion were not affected. The lowest bond strength values were observed for the resin-based luting agents with high inorganic filler content when no adhesive was used and for the resin-based luting agent with low filler content when the adhesive was used. The increase in filler content of the resin-based luting agent appeared to be associated with a higher frequency of mixed failures. Increased filler content resulted in higher biaxial flexural and characteristic strength and decreased structural reliability. The adhesive helped fill irregularities on ceramic and slightly increased film thickness but had only a minor effect on mechanical strength. Conclusions. Experimental resin-based luting agent loaded with high inorganic filler content strengthened the bonded feldspathic ceramic and yielded significantly higher viscosity and film thickness. In contrast, the bond strength was lower if no adhesive was used.