Effect of zirconia decontamination protocols on bond strength and surface wettability

Objective To evaluate the effects of human saliva decontamination protocols on bond strength of resin cement to zirconia (Y‐PSZ), wettability, and microbial decontamination. Materials and methods Zirconia plates were sandblasted and divided into (a) not contaminated, (b) contaminated with human saliva and: (c) not cleaned, (d) cleaned with air‐water spray, (e) cleaned with 70% ethanol, (f) cleaned with Ivoclean, or (g) cleaned with nonthermal atmospheric plasma (NTAP). The wettability and microbial decontamination of the surfaces were determined after saliva contamination or cleaning. Monobond Plus (Ivoclar Vivadent) was applied after cleaning, followed by Variolink LC (Ivoclar Vivadent). The samples were stored 1 week before shear bond strength (SBS) testing, and data (SBS and wettability) were analyzed by one‐way analysis of variance and Tukey test (α = .05). Results Saliva contamination reduced SBS to zirconia compared to not contaminated. Both Ivoclean and NTAP produced higher SBS compared to not cleaned and were not significantly different from the not contaminated. Ivoclean produced the highest contact angle, and NTAP the lowest. With the exception of using just water‐spray, all cleaning protocols decontaminated the specimens. Conclusions Both Ivoclean and NTAP overcame the effects of saliva contamination, producing an SBS to zirconia comparable to the positive control. Clinical significance Dental ceramics should be cleaned prior to resin cementation to eliminate the effects of human saliva contamination, and Ivoclean and NTAP are considered suitable materials for this purpose.