Influence of polymerization time on properties of dual-curing cements in combination with high translucency monolithic zirconia

Purpose: The aim of this in vitro study was to assess conversion degree (DC), micro-hardness (MH) and bond strength of two dual-curing resin cements employed under translucent monolithic zirconia irradiated with different time protocols. Methods: 84 square shaped samples of 1 mm thickness were prepared from high translucency zirconia blocks and divided into two groups (n = 24) according to the cement employed: (1) Rely-X Ultimate; (2) Panavia SA. Each group was further divided into 3 subgroups (n = 8) according to the irradiation time: (a) no light; (b) 20 s; (c) 120 s. Light curing was performed 60 s after the sample was placed on the diamond support of a FT-IR spectrophotometer with a high power multiLED lamp. Final DC% were calculated after 10 min. After 24 h, Vickers Test on the cement layer was performed. The same protocol was used to lute composite cylinders in order to evaluate microshear bond-strength test. ANOVA and Bonferroni tests were performed to find differences between MH and bond-strength to zirconia, while for DC% the Scheirer–Ray–Hare two-way test was used. Results: The two cements reached higher DC% in subgroup (b) and (c). As concern MH, statistics showed an increase in curing time was able to improve MH significantly. Bond-strength was not affected by irradiation time only for Panavia SA. Conclusions: The first null hypothesis has to be rejected since DC% and MH of the dual-cements tested were influenced by the curing time. The second null hypothesis is partially rejected since the bond strength was influenced by the curing time only for Rely-X Ultimate.