Restorations with extensive dentin/enamel-bonded ceramic coverage. A 5-year follow-up

Area of Science:

• Restorative Dentistry
• Dental Materials Science
• Prosthodontics

Background:

• Ceramic restorations are increasingly used for posterior dental applications.
• Assessing the long-term durability of dentin/enamel-bonded ceramic coverages is crucial.
• Evaluating different luting agents and dentin bonding systems is important for clinical success.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the durability of extensive dentin/enamel-bonded posterior ceramic restorations.
• To compare the effects of dual-cured and self-cured luting agents on restoration survival.
• To evaluate the performance of different dentin bonding agents in conjunction with ceramic coverages.

Main Methods:

• 182 IPS Empress ceramic coverages were placed in 110 patients.
• Restorations were luted using either Syntac with a dual-cured resin composite (Variolink) or chemically cured resin composite (Bisfil 2B) with various dentin bonding agents (Gluma, Allbond 2, Syntac).
• Mean observation period was 4.9 years, with failure rates analyzed based on luting agents, bonding agents, and tooth vitality.

Main Results:

• A total of 13 (7.1%) restorations were assessed as non-acceptable after a mean follow-up of 4.9 years.
• Reasons for failure included fracture (5), lost restorations (4), secondary caries (3), and endodontic treatment (1).
• No significant differences in failure rates were observed between the luting agents or the dentin bonding agents. Non-vital teeth showed a slightly higher failure rate (9.7%) compared to vital teeth (6.6%).

Conclusions:

• Dentin/enamel-bonded ceramic coverages demonstrate a high success rate, reducing the need for traditional full-coverage therapies.
• This technique minimizes the destruction of healthy tooth tissue.
• It also avoids the necessity for endodontic treatment and complex core placements, presenting significant clinical advantages.