Effect of Various Cleaning Methods on Microshear Bond Strength of Contaminated Yttria-Stabilized Tetragonal Zirconia Polycrystal Ceramic to Self-Adhesive Resin Cement, and Surface Wettability Publisher

Summary: How can contaminated zirconia bonds be restored? Lab tests found sodium hypochlorite cleaning and cold plasma helped recover resin bonding after blood or saliva exposure. #Dentistry #Biomaterials

Feiz A ; Ghahderijani M S
Source: Frontiers in Dentistry Published:2026

Abstract

Objectives: This study evaluated the impact of different cleaning methods on microshear bond strength (µSBS) of contaminated yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal ceramic to self-adhesive resin cement, and surface wettability. Materials and Methods: In this in vitro study, sandblasted zirconia plates measuring 10×10×3mm were randomly divided into 6 groups: a non-contaminated (NC) negative control group and 5 experimental groups that were contaminated with human blood and saliva, and cleaned with (c) air-water spray (CW) as positive control, (c) 70% ethanol (CE), (d) 1.0wt% sodium hypochlorite (SHC), (e) Zirclean (CZ), and (f) nonthermal atmospheric plasma (NTAP) (air plasma type). Surface wettability was then calculated. Sixteen Tygon tubes (0.8×2mm) filled with Theracem self-adhesive resin cement were bonded to the zirconia specimens, and underwent µSBS testing after one week of storage. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s test (α=0.05). Results: SHC and NTAP yielded the highest µSBS values, with no significant difference with the NC group (P>0.05). CW produced the lowest µSBS, which was not significantly different from the CE and CZ (P>0.05). CE showed the highest contact angle, which was not significantly different from the NC and CZ (P>0.05); SHC produced the lowest contact angle. There was no significant difference in contact angle between NTAP and CW (P>0.05), but their contact angle was larger than that of SHC (P=0.014). Conclusion: Cleaning zirconia with SHC and NTAP controlled the impact of saliva and blood contamination, and produced a µSBS to self-adhesive resin cement comparable to the positive control. Copyright © 2026 The Authors. Published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences.