Effect of seating forces on cement–ceramic adhesion in microtensile bond tests

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different seating forces during cementation in cement–ceramic microtensile bond strength (μTBS).

Forty-five blocks (5 × 5 × 4 mm³) of a glass-infiltrated alumina-based ceramic (In-Ceram Alumina) were fabricated according to the manufacturer’s instructions and duplicated in resin composite. Ceramic surfaces were polished, cleaned for 10 min in an ultrasonic bath, silica coated using a laboratory type of air abrasion device, and silanized. Each treated ceramic block was then randomly assigned to five groups (n = 9) and cemented to a composite block under five seating forces (10 g, 50 g, 100 g, 500 g, and 750 g) using a dual-cured resin cement (Panavia F). The ceramic–cement–composite assemblies were cut under coolant water to obtain bar specimens (1 mm × 0.8 mm²). The μTBS tests were performed in a universal testing machine (1 mm/min). The mean bond strengths values were statistically analyzed using one-way ANOVA (α ≤ 0.05).

Excessive seating forces during cementation seem not to affect the μTBS results.

Excessive forces during the seating of single all-ceramic restorations cementation seem to display the same tensile bond strength to the resin cement.