Investigate of bonding strength of implant supported restorations using different surface treatments and cement systems

The gray color reflection of titanium abutments, which is accepted as the gold standard in traditional implantology, may create a disadvantage in terms of aesthetics. For this reason, it has been tried to prevent this color reflection by coloring titanium. However, there is not enough data on the bond strength between titanium and dental cements that have been color-modified due to optical requirements. The aim of this study is to investigate the bond strength of titanium alloy with different surface treatments using different cements. 80 disc-shaped (8×2 mm) Ti-6Al-4V samples were divided into 4 groups as Group AP (pink anodization), Group AS (yellow anodization), Group S (sandblasting), Group K (control). Pink and yellow colored surfaces were obtained by anodic oxidation surface treatment in Group AP and Group AS samples. Group S samples were sandblasted with 50 µm Al2O3 particles. Group K samples were not surface treatment. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses were performed on one sample from each group after surface treatments. Cylindrical composite blocks (3×3 mm) prepared and cemented by using universal resin cement in half of the samples in each group and resin modified glass ionomer luting cement (rmgic) in the other half. Shear bond strength (SBS) test was applied on all samples. Data were evaluated by 2-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD test (P ≤0.05). All types of fractures were examined with a stereo microscope. In both cement groups, SBS values were observed as Group K, Group AS, Group AP, Group S in increasing order. For each surface treatment, resin cement showed higher significant results than rmgic (P ≤0.05). A significant difference was found between all surface treatments of the samples cemented with resin cement. In the samples cemented with rmgic, no significant difference was observed between the SBS values of Group AP and Group AS, while a significant difference was observed between the SBS values of the anodization groups, sandblasting and control groups. Cohesive and mixed failures were observed as a result of the fractographic analysis. Sandblasting surface treatment significantly increased the adhesion between titanium and cements. The anodic oxidation process can be considered as an alternative surface treatment that improves the optical properties as well as the connection between titanium and cements. KEYWORDS: Anodic oxidation, Cement, Sandblasting, Shear Bond Strength, Titanium