Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the shear bond strength (SBS) of surface-treated Polyether ether ketone (PEEK), veneered with different ceramic materials. One hundred and fifty PEEK disks were surface treated, and five groups were considered-Group A: No treatment, Group B: Sand-blasting with 50-mu m alumina, Group C: Sandblasting with 110-mu m alumina, Group D: Acid-etching with sulfuric acid (98%), and Group E: Acid-etching with sulfuric acid (98%) followed by silane application. Disks of lithium disilicate (LD; E-Max), leucite (LE; IPS Empress), and feldspathic (FP; VITA VM9) ceramics were prepared. The ceramic disks were acid etched (9.6% hydrofluoric acid) and a silane-coupling agent was applied. The PEEK specimens were bonded to the ceramic disks (LD, LE, and FP) with resin cement (RelyX Unicem). The SBS was assessed by loading the specimens until failure. Data analysis was performed using t-test, analysis of variance (One-way ANOVA), and multiple comparison test. The nature of surface treatment of PEEK and the ceramic type significantly influenced the SBS (p < 0.05). The PEEK specimens treated with acid-etching (98% sulfuric acid) with silane (Group 5) had maximum mean SBS (10.03 +/- 0.61 MPa). The LD samples showed significantly higher (p < 0.05) SBS than the LE samples. The overall bonding strengths of PEEK to the ceramic samples were low, warranting further studies.