Comparative Evaluation of Bond Strength of Bioflx Crowns with Resinous and Nonresinous Luting Agents on Primary Teeth: An In Vitro Study

Aims and background: Preserving primary teeth with crowns is vital in pediatric dentistry, especially for those compromised by dental caries, previous treatments, or malformations.To address the limitations of traditional esthetic crowns, Bioflx crowns have been available as a new, durable, esthetic, and self-adaptable preformed option for usage in pediatric dentistry.This in vitro study aimed to evaluate and compare the shear bond strengths of Bioflx crowns luted on primary teeth using different luting agents.Materials and methods: Bioflx blocks measuring 4 4 mm were luted on 45 extracted primary teeth using three different luting agents, based on which the 45 samples were divided into three groups: group I, glass ionomer cement (GIC) (GC Corp., Japan); group II, RelyX U200 (3M ESPE, Germany); and group III, ACTIVA (PulpDent, USA).A universal testing machine was used to measure the shear bond strength following the specimen thermocycling.Results: We found notable differences in the groups' shear bond strengths, with RelyX U200 and ACTIVA exhibiting much higher mean values (1.41 and 1.31 MPa, respectively) compared with GIC (0.32 MPa).Post hoc analysis revealed that group I (GIC) was significantly different from both groups II (RelyX U200) and III (ACTIVA), whereas no significant difference was observed between resinous luting agent groups. Conclusion:Resin-based luting agents were found to be superior to non-resinous agents in the luting of Bioflx polymer to primary teeth.Clinical significance: This study highlights the significance of bond strength when using various resin-based and non-resin-based luting agents on an advanced polymer crown designed specifically for pediatric dentistry.The bonding of Bioflx crowns with primary dentition remains a largely unexplored area, and this study offers valuable insights that pediatric dentists can effectively apply in clinical practice.