Under limited conditions, using MEP resulted in comparable SBS results to HFMP; meanwhile HFMP remains the gold standard for pretreatment of glass ceramics for resin-luting cementation.

No abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of Er:YAG laser on the roughness, surface topography, and bond strength to resin luting cement based on chemical and micro-abrasion pretreatments of different computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing materials. Methods: A polymer-infiltrated-ceramic-network (PICN) material (Vita Enamic, VE), three indirect resin composite (Cerasmart, CS; Shofu HC, SH; Lava Ultimate, LU), and one lithium disilicate ceramic (IPS e.max CAD, EM) blocks were subjected to one of the following pretreatments: no treatment (NC ), Er:YAG etching with one of two powers (either 3 or 6 W), hydrofluoric acid (HF) etching, self-etching ceramic primer (ME), or micro-abrasion (MA). The shear bond strength (SBS) of resin luting cement to pretreated materials was tested. Surface roughness was measured via atomic force microscopy, and surface topography was analyzed via scanning electron microscopy. Two-way analysis of variance, Tukey post-hoc test, and Pearson correlation were applied. Results: Etching EM and VE with HF or the ME resulted in the highest SBS values in their groups (P < 0.05). LU, SH, VE, and CS indicated similar SBS values when treated with 3 W, 6 W, and MA. The highest surface roughness (Sa ) values were obtained for the LU, CS, and VE groups when treated with 6 W, whereas the lowest Sa values were obtained for CS when treated with the ME and EM when treated with the ME or 3 W. Only SH and CS indicated a significant correlation between surface roughness and bond strength. Conclusions: Er:YAG laser etching is comparable to micro-abrasion when treating resin composite blocks and may induce fewer surface cracks. HF etching remains the gold standard for the treatment of glass-based ceramics and PICNs.

High-strength conventional glass ionomer cement (GIC EQF) and bulk fill composite SF requiring fewer application steps and reduced operating time than the traditional composite resin materials showed good cavity wall adaptation. Short operating time and good cavity wall adaptation are advantages of the materials in restorative and pediatric dentistry, especially while working on children with limited attention span.

BackgroundThe aim of this study was the characterization of mechanical properties of representative types of orthodontic wires employing instrumented indentation testing (IIT) according to ISO 14577.MethodsSegments were cut from ten wires. The first six are made of stainless steel (SS), two are made of Ni-Ti, and the last two are made of titanium molybdenum alloys (TMA). Then, the Martens hardness (HM), the Vickers hardness (HVIT) based on indentation hardness (HIT), the indentation modulus (EIT), the ratio of elastic to total work (ηIT), and the traditional Vickers hardness (HV1) were measured by IIT. The results were statistically analyzed by one-way ANOVA followed by Student-Newman-Keuls (SNK) test at a = 0.05. The HVIT and HV1 data were analyzed by paired t test (a = 0.05).ResultsSS wires showed the highest hardness followed by TMA and Ni-Ti alloys. However, all wires showed significantly lower HVIT compared to corresponding HV1, a finding probably appended to elastic recovery around the indentation. EIT for all wires tested was determined much lower than the nominal values of the corresponding alloys due to the implication of residual stress field at the slope of unloading curve. Elastic to total work ratio was ranged from 45.8 to 64.4 % which is higher than that expected for ductile alloys (<30 %).ConclusionsThe products tested illustrated significant differences in their mechanical properties. Although IIT provides reliable data for hardness and elastic index of materials tested, the intense residual stress field developed during the manufacturing process significantly affects the determination of modulus of elasticity.