INFLUENCE OF THICKNESS AND THERMOCYCLING ON TENSILE STRENGTH OF TWO RESIN-BASED CEMENTS USED FOR OVERDENTURES BAR-TYPE ATTACHMENTS: AN IN VITRO STUDY.

Purpose: To evaluate the tensile strength of five different thicknesses of two resin cements placed between two titanium surfaces, before and after aging.

Materials and methods: One hundred grade-5 titanium models were used, each composed of two surfaces simulating a semiprecision attachment for overdenture and its housing in the framework. Samples were cemented using two different resin cements (SoloCem and OT-Cem). Five groups representing five different cement thicknesses (from 50 to 250 μm) were created by varying the housing diameter. Half of the samples underwent a tensile strength test 24 hours after luting, while the other half underwent a tensile strength after 30,000 thermic cycles from 5°C to 55°C. Shapiro-Wilk and ANOVA with post-hoc tests were performed to relate the tensile strength to the variables: cement type, thermal aging, and cement thickness (P < .05).

Results: Statistical differences were found between the cements both at T0 and T1; the mean values of tensile strength of SoloCem were three times higher than those of OT-Cem. The thermic cycles determined a reduction of the tensile force values for both cements; statistical evidence was found only for the SoloCem, except for the 100 μm thickness group. Significant differences were also found between the cement thicknesses of both cements, with 50 μm and 100 μm expressing the best tensile strength. Most of the fractures were of cohesive nature.

Conclusions: SoloCem showed a higher tensile strength than OT-Cem but was more stressed by aging. For each group, the cement thickness influenced the tensile strength values with an inverse relationship.