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Ultimate force and stiffness of 2-piece zirconium dioxide implants with screw-retained monolithic lithium-disilicate
Tim Joda1, Benjamin Voumard2, Philippe K Zysset2
1Section for Digital Reconstructive Technology+Implant Dentistry [DiRecT+ID], School of Dental Medicine, University of Bern, Switzerland; Department of Reconstructive Dentistry & Gerodontology, School of Dental Medicine, University of Bern, Switzerland; Department of Reconstructive Dentistry, University Center for Dental Medicine Basel, University of Basel, Switzerland.
Purpose:
The aims were to analyze stiffness, ultimate force, and failure modes of a 2-piece zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) implant system.
Methods:
Eleven 2-piece ZrO2 implants, each mounted with ZrO2 abutments plus bonded monolithic lithium disilicate (LS2) restorations, were grouped for 3.3mm (A) and 4.1mm (B) diameter samples. Quasi-static load was monotonically applied under a standardized test set-up (loading configuration according to DIN ISO 14801). The ultimate force was defined as the maximum force that implants are able to carry out until fracture; stiffness was measured as the maximum slope during loading. An unpaired t-test was performed between group A and B for ultimate force and stiffness (p<0.05).
Results:
Force-displacement curves revealed statistically homogenous inner-group results for all samples. Failure modes showed characteristic fractures at the neck configuration of the implants independent of the diameter. Mean stiffness was 1099N/mm (±192) for group A, and significantly lower compared to group B with 1630N/mm (±274) (p<0.01); whereas mean ultimate force was 348N (±53) for group A, and significantly increased for group B with 684N (±29) (p<0.0001).
Conclusions:
The examined 2-piece ZrO2 implant system mounted to LS2-restorations seems to be a stable unit under in-vitro conditions with mechanical properties compared to loading capacity of physiological force. The metal-free implant reconstructions demonstrated high stiffness and ultimate force under quasi-static load for single tooth replacement under consideration of the dental indication of narrow and standard diameter implants.
