Influence of 10-methacryloyloxydecyl dihydrogen phosphate (MDP) incorporated experimental cleaners on the bonding performance of saliva-contaminated zirconia ceramic.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the efficacy of experimental cleaners containing 10-methacryloyloxydecyl dihydrogen phosphate (MDP) on the saliva decontamination of ceramic and their influence in restoring zirconia's adherence to resin cement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four hundred sixty alumina-blasted zirconia specimens were categorized into saliva-contaminated and uncontaminated groups which were treated with ceramic primer (P), experimental cleaner 1 (C1), C1 followed by P (C1P), experimental cleaner 2 (C2), and C2 followed by P (C2P). Stainless-steel rods were then attached to the specimens using PanaviaV5 cement (Kuraray Noritake Dental; Tokyo, Japan). Tensile bond strength (TBS) test was performed after 24 h and 5000 thermocycling processes. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis and contact angle measurement of the specimen were performed. The TBS data were analyzed by Weibull analysis and three-way ANOVA. Contact angle data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA (alpha = 0.05). RESULTS: C2P groups showed the highest TBS in all conditions among tested groups. Saliva contamination led to a significant reduction of TBS in primer- and cleaner-treated groups, with no significant impact on C2P. Adhesive failure was predominant in contaminated groups except with the C1P and C2P groups. XPS revealed that a nitrogen peak was observed on contaminated groups but not in primed groups. The contact angle was significantly affected by saliva contamination, the cleaners, and/or ceramic primer usage (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The MDP cleaner followed by the MDP primer protocol may overcome the effect of saliva contamination and improve the resin-ceramic bond strength. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: It is recommended to use a combination of MDP-containing cleaner 2 and ceramic primer as a chair-side chemical pretreatment for zirconia substrate with or without saliva contamination.