The effect of different surface treatment on shear bond strength of veneering composite to implant based peek abutment

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of different surface treatment methods on the shear bond strength of the veneering composite to polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) core material. Materials and Methods: In this in-vitro study, 48 PEEK discs were fabricated, polished with silicon carbide abrasive paper and divided into four surface treatment groups (n=12), namely air-abrasion with 50μm alumina particles at 2MPa pressure for 10 seconds, air- abrasion plus sulfuric acid etching, 98% sulfuric acid etching for one minute and no surface treatment control group. Visio.link adhesive with GC Gradia veneering composite was applied on PEEK surfaces and light-cured. Shear bond strength was measured using a universal testing machine and the data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Tukey's test. Results: The mean ± standard deviation (SD) values of the shear bond strength of the veneering composite to PEEK surfaces were 5.39±1.36 MPa in the control group, 6.43±1.05 MPa for air-abrasion, 13.43±1.42 MPa for sulfuric acid etching, and 11.72±1.69 MPa for air-abrasion plus sulfuric acid etching. The shear bond strength averages of the sulfuric acid group were significantly higher than the other three groups (p <0.05). Shear bond strength averages of air-abrasion + acid etching group were significantly higher than air-abrasion and control groups (p <0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between shear bond strength averages of air-abrasion and control group (p>0.05). Conclusion: Different surface treatments that were applied on PEEK framework were found to be effective on the bond strength between veneering composite and PEEK core material. Sulfuric acid etching group has the highest bonding strength and the control group has lowest bonding strength. The difference between the air-abrasion group and the control group was not statistically significant. The sulfuric acid etching and combination of air-abrasion and acid etching were suggested to be the optimal surface treatment to improve adhesion between PEEK and the resin composite. Keywords: Polyether-ether-ketone; PEEK; Shear Strength; Composite Resin.