The Effect of Air Abrasion of Metal Implant Abutments on the Tensile Bond Strength of Three Luting Agents Used to Cement Implant Superstructures: An In Vitro Study

Purpose: To assess the effect of airborne particle abrasion of metal implant abutments on tensile bond strength (TBS) of TempBond, Retrieve, and Premier implant cements. Materials and Methods: Specimens were designed to replicate a single metal implant crown cemented to both smooth and airborne particle- abraded Osteo-Ti implant abutments with zero degrees of taper. Twenty castings were fabricated and cemented to either a smooth surface abutment (SSA) or to an airborne particle-abraded abutment (AAA). TBS was measured with a 50-kg load and a crosshead speed of 0.5 cm/min in a universal testing machine. Each cement was tested 10 times on both abutment types. Results: The mean TBS values (standard deviations, 95% confidence intervals) of SSAs for TempBond, Retrieve, and Premier cements were 115.89 N (26.44, 96.98-134.81), 134.43 N (36.95, 108.25-160.60), and 132.51 N (55.10, 93.09-171.93), respectively. The corresponding values for AAAs were 129.69 N (30.39, 107.95-151.43), 298.67 N (80.36, 241.19-356.16), and 361.17 N (133.23, 265.86-456.48), respectively. There was no significant difference in TBS among the dental cements when used with an SSA. Air abrasion of abutments did not increase the TBS of TempBond but significantly increased crown retention with Retrieve and Premier. For SSAs, all failures were adhesive on the abutment surface; for AAAs, mostly cohesive cement failures occurred. Conclusion: The retention of copings cemented with Retrieve or Premier to zero-degree-taper abutments was significantly increased after airborne particle abrasion of the abutments. However, this was not significant when TempBond was used. Airborne particle abrasion of abutments and the use of Retrieve or Premier can be recommended for nonretrievable prostheses. Although TempBond functioned similarly to the two other cements in SSAs, it is advisable to limit its use to provisional prostheses; its long-term performance needs to be assessed clinically. Keywords: airborne particle abrasion, dental implants, luting cements, tensile bond strength