Abstract: Objective To evaluate the effects of artificial aging on bond durability of zirconia treated with different methods. Methods 128 zirconia/composite resin bonding specimens for 4groups were prepared. Surface conditioning and resin cement were used by groups: A=tribochemical silica coating + silane + Bis-GMA based resin cement; B=alumina sandblasting + self-adhesive resin cement; C=alumina sandblasting + zirconia primer Z-Prime Plus+ Bis-GMA based resin cement; D= alumina sandblasting + zirconia primer Z-Prime Plus+ self-adhesive resin cement. Each group was divided into 4 subgroups to receive different artificial aging as no aging, water storage for 40 days, thermal cycling for 1200 times, and thermal cycling for 12000 times after water storage for 40 days. The shear bond strength of each specimen was tested. The zirconia surface treated with tribochemical silica coating or alumina sandblasting was observed by a scanning electron microscopy and electron spectroscopy analysis was done. Results No statistically significant difference was found among the 4 groups whether accepting artificial aging or not. In each group, only the subgroup d showed significantly lower bond strength values and the difference was statistically significant. Conclusion Different artificial aging methods have different effects on bonding strength of zirconia.

Key words: zirconia, bonding, surface treatment, artifical aging