Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of different surface treatments on the bond strength of polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) to ceramic materials.
Materials and Methods: PEKK test specimens were separated into four groups according to surface treatments (group S: sandblasting; group A: acid etching; group SA: sandblasting + acid etching; group C: control). Surface roughness values of PEKK specimens were measured before and after surface treatment. After the prepared PEKK specimens were bonded to lithium-disilicate glass-ceramic specimens with resin cement, they were kept in distilled water at 37°C for 24 h. Half of the specimens in each surface treatment group were thermocycled. All test specimens underwent shear bond strength testing. Failure modes were assessed using light microscopy and SEM.
Results: Statistical analysis demonstrated that surface treatments created significant roughness on the PEKK surfaces (p = 0.005). While group S showed the highest roughness values, group A showed the lowest. Of the thermocycled test groups, the sandblasting + acid etching group obtained the highest shear bond strengths. Among the non-thermocycled test groups, the sandblasting surface treatment group achieved the highest shear bond strengths.
Conclusions: The application of surface treatments to enhance the bond strength of PEKK to ceramics has proven to be effective.