Evaluation of Resin Bonding to Tetragonal and Gradient-Shaded Cubic Zirconia Ceramics After Air-Abrasion

Self-assembled nano-layering resulting from combined ionic and hydrogen-bonding interactions of phosphate functional monomers with zirconia have been proposed. The purpose of this study was to investigate the bond strengths of two phosphate monomer-containing adhesive resin cements (Panavia F 2.0 and RelyX U200) to a conventional tetragonal zirconia (Lava Plus, LP) and a new cubic zirconia (Lava Esthetic, LE), with three different shade zones, after air-abrasion. The structures of the zirconia surfaces were examined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). Vickers hardness and fracture toughness of the surfaces were also evaluated using a hardness tester. After air-abrasion (with 50 µm Al2O3 at a pressure of 0.25 MPa), the surface roughness was measured using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and the resin cements were bonded (diameter: 2.38 mm) to the surfaces. All bonded specimens were stored in water at 37 °C for 24 h before performing the shear bond strength (SBS) test (n = 15). In the SEM images, the LP group showed a finer grain size than the LE groups. The XRD patterns confirmed that LP and LE had tetragonal and cubic phases, respectively. Although there were no significant differences in Vickers hardness among the four groups (p = 0.117), the three LE groups revealed inferior fracture toughness to the LP group (p < 0.001). However, neither the surface roughness of the air-abraded zirconia surfaces nor SBS values of each resin cement bonded to them were significantly different (p > 0.05). In conclusion, no significant difference in SBS value was detected between the tetragonal and cubic zirconia within each resin cement used, probably due to the similar surface roughness of the air-abraded zirconia ceramics.

Effect of varying thickness and artificial aging on color and translucency of cubic zirconia and lithium disilicate ceramics

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of varying thickness and artificial aging on the color and translucency of cubic zirconia and lithium disilicate ceramics. Material and Methods: A total of 30 square shaped disks (12 mm x 12 mm) were fabricated from the cubic zirconia (Bruxzir Anterior) blank and lithium disilicate blocks (E.max CAD), used in three thicknesses (0.5mm, 0.8mm and 1mm). Portable spectrophotometer Vita Easyshade Advance was used to obtain color coordinates, which were substituted in formulas and used to calculate color change and translucency parameter values before and after aging (thermocycling for lithium disilicate and hydrothermal aging for cubic zirconia). Repeated measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to study the effect of ceramic type, thickness, aging and their interaction on mean translucency parameter. Two-way (ANOVA) was used to study the effect of ceramic type, thickness and their interaction on mean color change (E). Results: Statistical analysis showed that E.max CAD HT is more translucent than Bruxzir Anterior. Translucency decreased as thickness increased. There was a statistically significant decrease in TP after aging for both materials. Lithium disilicate showed statistically significant greater E when subjected to aging than cubic zirconia, with both E values being clinically imperceptible. As thickness increased, E decreased. Conclusions: Thickness highly affected translucency and color of ceramics. As thickness increases, translucency parameter decreases and color change becomes less evident. Aging also causes a significant decrease in translucency parameter and induces color change however color changes are imperceptible. Keywords Aging; Ceramics; Color; Translucency.

Grain size effect on the radiation damage tolerance of cubic zirconia against simultaneous low and high energy heavy ions: Nano triumphs bulk

Irradiation induced damage in materials is highly detrimental and is a critical issue in several vital science and technology fields, e.g., the nuclear and space industries. While the effect of dimensionality (nano/bulk) of materials on its radiation damage tolerance has been receiving tremendous interest, studies have only concentrated on low energy (nuclear energy loss (Sn) dominant) and high energy (electronic energy loss (Se) dominant) irradiations independently (wherein, interestingly, the effect is opposite). In-fact, research on radiation damage in general has almost entirely focused only on independent irradiations with low and/or high energy particles till date, and investigations under simultaneous impingement of energetic particles (which also correspond to the actual irradiation conditions during real-world applications) are very scarce. The present work elucidates, taking cubic zirconia as a model system, the effect of grain size (26 nm vs 80 nm) on the radiation tolerance against simultaneous irradiation with low energy (900 keV I) and high energy (27 meV Fe) particles/ions; and, in particular, introduces the enhancement in the radiation damage tolerance upon downsizing from bulk to nano dimension. This result is interpreted within the framework of the thermal-spike model after considering (1) the fact that there is essentially no spatial and time overlap between the damage events of the two ‘simultaneous’ irradiations, and (2) the influence of grain size on radiation damage against individual Sn and Se. The present work besides providing the first fundamental insights into how the grain size/grain boundary density inherently mediates the radiation response of a material to simultaneous Sn and Se deposition, also (1) paves the way for potential application of nano-crystalline materials in the nuclear industry (where simultaneous irradiations with low and high energy particles correspond to the actual irradiation conditions), and (2) lays the groundwork for understanding the material behaviour under other simultaneous (viz. Sn and Sn, Se and Se) irradiations.