Adhesive cementation protocol of Zirconia restorations

Reliable cementation of fixed prosthetic restorations represents one of the most sensitive and crucial tasks during the prosthetic dental treatment with desirable long term clinical success. Because of its particular structure, zirconia restorations require a special conditioning before cementation in order to achieve a strong bond to dental structure. The lack of information about adhesive cementation technique of zirconia based ceramics could lead to undesired failure. Our aim is to acquaint practitioners with particular structure of zirconium oxide and microscopic interaction with resin cement in adhesive cementation. We have studied the indication for use of eight out of the most used Zirconia brands in Romania. The results show that every manufacturer indicates to sandblast the inner surface of zirconia copings prior to adhesive cementation. The cementation itself could be done in two ways: usage of phosphate-monomer based luting agent or silicatisation of the zirconia surface followed by a regular adhesive cementation. Keywords: zirconia, adhesive cementation, MDP monomer, silicatisation