The influence of surface modification techniques on the performance of a Y-TZP dental ceramic

Objectives: The purpose of the current study was to examine the influence of the pre-cementation surface modification techniques, namely alumina abrasion and surface grinding, routinely employed by dental practitioners prior to cementation and placement of crown and bridge restorations on the performance of a Y-TZP dental ceramic. Methods: Twelve sets of 30 Lava(TM) ceramic discs (13 mm diameter, 1.5 mm thickness) supplied by the manufacturer were randomly selected. Six groups were abraded utitising 25, 50 and 110 mu m alumina and stored dry or in a water bath at 37 +/- 1 degrees C for 24 h. Four groups were ground utitising a fine or a coarse grit diamond bur, specimens were ground dry or while using water as a coolant. The mean bi-axial flexure strengths, standard deviations and associated Weibull moduli (m) were determined. The surface roughness, hardness and phase composition were assessed utitising profilometry, the Vicker's hardness indentation and X-ray diffraction, respectively. Results: No significant difference (P > 0.05) was identified in the bi-axial flexure strength of the 25, 50 and 110 mu m alumina-abraded and the control specimens stored dry and wet for 24 h. However, a significant increase in m was identified for the alumina-abraded specimens stored dry (10.7 +/- 1.9, 10.6 +/- 1.9 and 10.6 +/- 1.9) compared with the control (7.5 +/- 1.3) and the specimens stored in a water bath. In addition, the alumina abrasion regimes reduced the surface roughness compared with the controls. The coarse grinding regime significantly reduced both the bi-axial flexure strength and the associated m compared with the control whilst no significant difference was identified for the fine grinding regimes. The surface modification techniques initiated a phase transformation mechanism and resulted information of a layer of compressive stresses on the surface of the disc-shaped specimens. Conclusions: The combination of the reduced surface roughness and the formation of a surface layer of compressive stress as a result of the alumina abrasion regimes investigated increased the reliability of the bi-axial flexure strength. The presence of water in the current study did not detrimentally influence the performance of the Y-TZP ceramic under investigation. Coarse grinding significantly reduced the bi-axial flexure strength and m due to the increased surface roughness. The Y-TZP specimens in the current investigation underwent a toughening mechanism as a result of a phase transformation mechanism which generated a transformation compressive stress that opposes the externally applied, crack-propagating tensile stress. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.