Porcelain bonding to titanium with two veneering principles and two firing temperatures.

Dental literature, as well as dental laboratories, has described problems with ceramic veneering of titanium, while clinical and in vitro studies have reported good results. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of firing temperature, thermo cycling, and veneering methods on bond strength between porcelain and titanium. Eighty titanium specimens were prepared with one of two methods: a bonding agent firing or an oxidation firing. During veneering, half of the specimens in each group were fired at 30 degrees C above and half at the manufacturer's recommended temperature. In the bonding agent group and in the oxidation group, half of each firing group was thermocycled. Bond strength was calculated in a three-point bending test. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analyses of the titanium and the porcelain fracture surfaces of one specimen from each subgroup was used in order to study the composition of the interface between titanium and porcelain surfaces after fracture. No significant difference in bond strength was found when firing at a higher temperature compared with firing at the recommended temperature. An oxidation firing before veneering yielded significantly higher bond strength in a three-point bending test than when firing with a bonding agent. SEM and EDS analyses indicated a higher frequency of titanium oxide fractures in the oxidation than in the bonding agent group.The main finding is that firing at 30 degrees C above the recommended temperature does not significantly affect bond strength between titanium and porcelain. SEM and EDS analysis indicate that fractures occur in the titanium oxide layer by oxidation firing and in the interface between titanium oxide layer and veneering material by bonding agent firing.This finding might indicate that three- point bending test is not a relevant method for determining bond strength in this case, since the firing methods might influence the ductility of the samples.