During the 1980s and early 1990s, when etched castings were the method of choice for retention

of resin-bonded
FDPs, extensive research was under way in Japan to develop adhesive systems for direct bonding of metal for this
†
application. The first of these resin systems is based on a formulation of a methyl methacrylate polymer powder and
methyl methacrylate liquid modified with the adhesion promoter 4-methacryloxyethyl-trimellitic anhydride (4-
30
META). It was developed with a unique tri-n-butylborane catalyst system that is added to the liquid before
combining with the powder. On base metal alloys, Super-Bond has the highest initial bond strengths of any adhesive
resin system. Unfortunately, the hydrolytic stability of these bonds over time depended on the alloy’s Cr-Ni
31,32
ratio. Its advantages include its lower elastic modulus and higher fracture toughness in comparison with bisphenol-
33,34
A-glycidyl dimethacrylate (bisGMA)–based resin cements, yielding better clinical results with less well-adapted
35
castings. This system had shown poor clinical results with bonding high–gold content alloy retainers to abutment
36
teeth. However, alloy primers have been developed that provide a more stable bond to noble alloy
37,38 39
surfaces, which has been confirmed in a clinical study.
*
Super-Bond’s introduction was followed by a bisGMA-based composite resin luting cement that is modified with
the adhesion promoter 10-methacryloxydecyl dihydrogen phosphate (MDP). MDP’s chemical structure and use are
40
described in the literature.
Panavia resin luting agent has shown excellent bonds to particle-abraded Ni-Cr and chromium-cobalt (Cr-Co)
41,42 21,43
alloys as well as tin-plated gold and gold palladium-based alloys.
Panavia has a tensile bond to etched enamel (10 to 15 MPa) comparable with that of the traditional bisGMA low-
film thickness composites (e.g., Comspan and Conclude). The combination of metal electrolytic etching, followed by
application of an adhesive such as Panavia, does not improve the tensile bond to the alloy, and its strength is actually
44
slightly lower than that of the bond of Panavia to airborne particle abraded (sandblasted) base metal alloys. The most
recent versions are Panavia 21 and Panavia F 2.0, the latter being a dual cure system (chemical and visible light) that
releases fluoride. Both incorporate a self-etching primer system (ED Primer) for bonding to enamel and dentin.
Tin plating of noble alloys allows resin-to-metal bond tensile bond strengths only slightly lower than those for
either the electrolytically etched or particle abraded Ni-Cr-Be alloys (18 to 30 MPa). However, tensile bond strengths
45,46
are certainly greater than the bond to etched enamel. Tin plating of the metal surface also requires particle abrasion
47,48
of the alloy surface just before bonding for adequate tin nucleation sites (Fig. 26-4). Tin plating can be completed
†
in the dental laboratory, chairside, or intraorally to achieve metal bonding. One popular tin-plating system (Fig. 26-
5A) involves the use of a tin amide solution, which is applied to the metal surface with a saturated cotton pledget held
on the end of a battery-powered probe (4 V). The probe is grounded elsewhere on the metal (Fig. 26-5B). Tin-plating
times are usually 5 to 10 seconds, and a light gray surface is produced. Plating is followed by copious rinsing with
water and drying; the adhesive resin is then applied.