Effect of Various Cleaning Methods on Microshear Bond Strength of Contaminated Yttria-Stabilized Tetragonal Zirconia Polycrystal Ceramic to Self-Adhesive Resin Cement, and Surface Wettability

Abstract

Objectives: This study evaluated the impact of different cleaning methods on microshear bond strength (µSBS) of contaminated yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal ceramic to self-adhesive resin cement, and surface wettability. Materials and Methods: In this in vitro study, sandblasted zirconia plates measuring 10×10×3mm were randomly divided into 6 groups: a non-contaminated (NC) negative control group and 5 experimental groups that were contaminated with human blood and saliva, and cleaned with (c) air-water spray (CW) as positive control, (c) 70 ethanol (CE), (d) 1.0wt sodium hypochlorite (SHC), (e) Zirclean (CZ), and (f) nonthermal atmospheric plasma (NTAP) (air plasma type). Surface wettability was then calculated. Sixteen Tygon tubes (0.8×2mm) filled with Theracem self-adhesive resin cement were bonded to the zirconia specimens, and underwent µSBS testing after one week of storage. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s test (α=0.05). Results: SHC and NTAP yielded the highest µSBS values, with no significant difference with the NC group (P>0.05). CW produced the lowest µSBS, which was not significantly different from the CE and CZ (P>0.05). CE showed the highest contact angle, which was not significantly different from the NC and CZ (P>0.05); SHC produced the lowest contact angle. There was no significant difference in contact angle between NTAP and CW (P>0.05), but their contact angle was larger than that of SHC (P=0.014). Conclusion: Cleaning zirconia with SHC and NTAP controlled the impact of saliva and blood contamination, and produced a µSBS to self-adhesive resin cement comparable to the positive control. Copyright © 2026 The Authors. Published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences.