Effect of diode laser irradiation on bond strength of resin cements to high-translucent zirconia

Treatment of acid-resistance high-translucent zirconia prior to luting procedures is usually carried out with sandblasting. Considering that this process could lead to the formation of cracks on the zirconia surface, laser irradiation became an alternative to sandblasting. The effect of diode laser, however, was never investigated under this context. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect diode laser irradiation on the bond strength between zirconia and two resin cements after 48-hour and 12-month water aging. Slabs of high-translucent zirconia were sandblasted with 50-µm Al2O3 particles (SB), irradiated with diode laser (DL), or SB+DL. All slabs were etched with 10% hydrofluoric acid and layered with a universal adhesive. Plastic tubes with 0.8-mm internal diameter positioned on treated zirconia surfaces were used as matrices to insert a dual- (DUAL) or a light-cure (LC) resin cement. All specimens were light-cured for 40 seconds at 1000 mW/cm2 and submitted to the µSBS test after 48-hour or 12-month water storage. Data were statistically analyzed with a three-way analysis of variance (