Joining veneers to ceramic cores and dentition with adhesive interlayers

Adhesive joining of veneers to cores offers potential simplicity and economy in the fabrication of all-ceramic crowns. We tested the hypothesis that resin-based adhesives can be used for such fabrication without compromising mechanical integrity of the crown structure. A simple test procedure for quantifying this hypothesis was proposed. A model glass veneer layer 1 mm thick (representative of porcelain), adhesively bonded onto a glass-like core substrate (ceramic or dental enamel), was loaded at its top surface with a hard sphere (occlusal force) until a radial crack initiated at the veneer undersurface. The critical loads for fracture, visually observable in the transparent glass, afforded a measure of the predisposition for the adhesive to cause veneer failure in an occlusal overload. Two adhesives were tested, one a commercial epoxy resin and the other a relatively stiff in-house-developed composite. The results confirmed that stiffer adhesives provide higher resistance to failure.