Antagonist wear by polished zirconia crowns

The aim of this in vivo study was to measure antagonist wear caused by polished monolithic posterior zirconia crowns over a 24-month period using the intraoral digital impression (IDI) technique.

Thirteen zirconia crowns were placed in nine patients. The crowns and adjacent teeth were captured using an intraoral scanner (Lava C.O.S.). The corresponding antagonist teeth and the respective neighboring teeth were also scanned. Scanning was performed immediately after the restoration (baseline) as well as 12 and 24 months after crown placement. Geomagic Qualify software was used to superimpose the follow-up data sets onto the corresponding baseline data set, identify wear sites, and measure maximum vertical height loss in each individual wear site. Overall antagonist wear was then determined as the mean of wear rates measured in all of the individual antagonist units. In addition, wear rates in enamel and ceramic antagonists were analyzed as part of the scope of this study.

The maximum mean wear with standard deviation (SD) in the overall sample with a total of nine patients, 13 antagonist units, and 98 evaluable wear sites was 86 ± 23 µm at 12 months, and 103 ± 39 µm at 24 months. The maximum mean wear in the enamel antagonist subgroup was 87 ± 41 µm at 12 months, and 115 ± 71 µm at 24 months; and in the ceramic antagonist subgroup 107 ± 22 µm at 12 months, and 120 ± 27 µm at 24 months.

The wear rates determined in this study are comparable to those of existing studies. The IDI technique of wear analysis can be carried out in a practical manner and produces useful results.