Effect of cementation, cement type and vent holes on fit of zirconia copings

To investigate the effect of cementation, cement type and vent-holes on the marginal and internal fit of Zirconia (Zr) Copings.

Extracted premolars (N = 100) were mounted in resin and prepared for Zr crowns. Samples were randomly divided into 5 groups (n = 20); A: No Cementation; B: Cementation with Glass-Ionomer (GI); C: GI + Vent-Holes; D: Cementation with Resin Cement (RC); E: RC + Vent-Holes. The copings were fabricated using semi sintered Zr Blocks with a standardized cement space of 20 µm. Groups C & E were designed to have 0.5 mm of Vent-Holes on the Buccal and Lingual Cusp Tips. The copings were tried, cemented, thermocycled, re-embedded in resin and cross sectioned into two halves. The copings were examined with 3D-Digital Microscope (HIROX, KH-7700, Tokyo, Japan) at 50-200X. The gaps were recorded at 9 predetermined points.

The non-cemented groups showed statistically better fit compared to the cemented groups P < 0.05 except vs Group E (RC plus vent holes). No significance was found between the cemented groups P > 0.05. Copings with vent-holes showed statistically better fit than copings without holes P < 0.05.

Marginal and Internal gap values designed in the software programs differed than the actual values measured for the non-cemented copings. Cementation process also influenced the fit of the Zr copings, the resin cement being the more accurate. The addition of vent-holes on the occlusal surface improved the fit.