Purpose: Debonding at the post-adhesive interface is a major problem for quartz fiber posts. The objective of this study was to evaluate surface roughness and bond strength of quartz fiber posts after various surface treatments.
Materials and methods: Sixty-six quartz fiber posts were randomly divided into six experimental groups (n = 11) including group C, untreated (control); group SB, sandblasted; group SC, silica coated; group HF, hydrofluoric acid-etched; group N, Nd:YAG laser irradiated; group E, Er:YAG laser irradiated. Surface roughness of the posts was measured before and after pre-treatment. They were then bonded to resin cement and tensile bond strength was determined in a universal testing machine. Furthermore, two-way ANOVA and post hoc comparison tests (α = 0.05) were performed on all data.
Results: The highest mean force value was observed in group SB and followed by group E. Tukey's HSD test showed that there was no statistical difference between group SB and group E (p = 0.673). The highest mean roughness value was observed in group SB and a significant difference was found between group SB and all other groups (p < 0.001). This study reveals that sandblasting and Er:YAG laser irradiation provided a significant increase in bond strength between quartz fiber posts and resin cement.
Conclusions: Sandblasting or Er:YAG laser-irradiation of the surface of the quartz fiber post before cementation is recommended for increasing retention.
Keywords: acid-etch; bond strength; laser; quartz fiber post; sandblasting; silica coating.