Silane coupling agents and surface conditioning in dentistry
In dental restorations, it is desirable to have durable and strong bonding between resin composite and dental restorative materials. Weak bonding at the interface can be dramatically enhanced with a coupling agent. An overview by Christie YK Lung, Hong Kong, and Jukka Pekka Matinlinna, Finland.
Silane coupling agents, which are synthetic hybrid inorganic-organic compounds, are used to promote adhesion between dissimilar materials. They are good at promoting adhesion in silica-based materials such as porcelain. However, adhesion in non-silica-based restorative materials such as zirconia, metals and metal alloys is not satisfactory.
A solution to this problem may be surface conditioning of the restorative materials. Currently, a widely used surface-conditioning method in dentistry is tribochemical silica coating. After this treatment, a silica layer is formed on the surface so that the silane coupling agent can react chemically to form a durable bond with non-silica-based materials. Moreover, this treatment increases surface roughness, which will enhance micromechanical interlocking for bonding.
This review will discuss surface-conditioning methods and some new surface-conditioning techniques, silane chemistry, silane application in dentistry, and the limitations of silanes in adhesion promotion. The silane monomer most commonly used in clinical commercial products is 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane. This is pre-hydrolysed in a solvent mixture usually consisting of ethanol and water that is acidified with acetic acid.