d e n t a l m a t e r i a l s 2 8 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 467–477 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com jo u rn al hom epa ge : www.intl.elsevierhealth.com/journals/dema Review Aspects of silane coupling agents and surface conditioning in dentistry: An overview Christie Ying Kei Lung, Jukka Pekka Matinlinna * Dental Materials Science, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 31 May 2011 Received in revised form 11 November 2011 Accepted 17 February 2012 Keywords: Silane Adhesion Dental materials Zirconia Titanium Resin composites and cements a b s t r a c t Objectives. To give an overview of aspects of silane coupling agents and surface conditioning in dentistry. Methods. Currently, silane coupling agents are used as adhesion promoters. Silanes are effec- tive in enhancing adhesion between resin composite and silica-based ceramics. They do not bond effectively to non-silica based dental restorative materials. Surface conditioning of non-silica based ceramics with silica coating improves the bonding. This current overview will focus on the silane coupling agents: their properties, limitations in adhesion promotion and the clinical problems with the use of silanes. It will also focus on the current surface con- ditioning methods as well as new surface conditioning techniques to enhance the bonding through conventional silanization approaches. Results. Several surface conditioning methods are being used clinically to enhance the adhe- sion of resin composites to non-silica based restorative materials. Other approaches are under investigation. The clinical problem of using silanes in adhesion promotion is the bond degradation over time in oral environment. Significance. The current silane coupling agents are not ideal. The current silane coupling agents can fulfill the minimum requirements in clinical practice to enhance the bonding of resin composite to dental restorative materials. Developments of novel surface conditioning methods and silane coupling agents are required to address the bond durability problem. © 2012 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468 2. Pre-activated silanes in dentistry ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468 3. Surface conditioning .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468 3.1. Grit blasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468 3.2. Pyrochemical silica-coating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470 3.3. Tribochemical silica-coating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470 3.4. Chemical treatment of ceramic materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470 ∗ Corresponding author at: Dental Materials Science, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, 4/F, Prince Philip Dental Hospital, 34 Hospital Road, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong, China. Tel.: +852 2859 0380; fax: +852 2548 9464. E-mail addresses: yklung@graduate.hku.hk (C.Y.K. Lung), jpmat@hku.hk (J.P. Matinlinna). 0109-5641/$ – see front matter © 2012 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.dental.2012.02.009