Effect of Different Surface Treatments Applied to Short Zirconia and Titanium Abutments

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the effect of different surface treatments applied to short titanium and zirconia abutments on the bond strength of single-unit zirconia crowns. Materials and Methods: Sixty titanium abutments were shortened to 3 mm in length, fixed to analogs, and embedded in acrylic blocks. Three-dimensional views of abutments were obtained by scanning; then, zirconia abutments and copings were produced. The samples, which included titanium (n = 60) and zirconia (n = 60) abutments, were divided into five different groups (n = 12), and surface treatments were carried out; 1.5-W and 3-W Er,Cr:YSGG laser treatment, AL₂O₃ sandblasting, and tribochemical silica coating were applied to the groups, and the control group had no surface treatment. Copings were cemented to the samples with self-adhesive resin cement. The samples were then subjected to the pull-out test, and the results were processed via statistical analysis. Results: There was a significant difference between the titanium and zirconia groups (P .001). The mean bond strength values of the titanium samples were higher than those of the zirconia samples. The tribochemical silica coating gave a higher bond strength than the other treatments when applied to titanium abutments. For the zirconia abutments, the 1.5-W laser treatment, 3-W laser treatment, tribochemical silica coating, and Al₂O₃ sandblasting groups differed significantly from the control group; however, they were not significantly different from each other. Conclusion: The bond strength of zirconia crowns to short titanium and zirconia abutments increases with surface treatments. Furthermore, the surface treatments were more effective in increasing the bond strength for the titanium abutments than for the zirconia abutments. Keywords: dental, implant, retention, short abutment, titanium, zirconia