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Microleakage of thin-walled monolithic zirconia and polymer-containing CAD-CAM crowns
Maximiliane A Schlenz1, Carsten Fiege2, Alexander Schmidt1
1Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Prosthodontics, Dental Clinic, Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany.
Statement Of Problem:
Monolithic restorations facilitate computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) processability and provide thin-walled restorations, which require less tooth reduction. For the long-term success of these restorations, their durable sealing is important. However, data in this regard are sparse.
Purpose:
The purpose of this in vitro study was to investigate the microleakage of monolithic complete crowns made from current CAD-CAM materials after mastication simulation.
Material And Methods:
Sixty-four identical test specimens (crown and tooth) were milled based on corresponding standard tessellation language data sets: one for the crowns and another for the human molar teeth. Four CAD-CAM restoration materials were investigated: 2 polymer-containing materials, Brilliant Crios (BC) and Vita Enamic (VE), and 2 zirconia materials, ultra-high-translucent Nacera Pearl Q³ Multi-Shade (ultraHT) and high-translucent Nacera Pearl Multi-Shade (HT). The crowns were adhesively luted to the CAD-CAM milled human molars with 1 of 3 luting systems: OneCoat7Universal and DuoCem (BC); A.R.T.Bond and DuoCement (VE); or EDPrimer/Panavia F2.0 (ultraHT and HT). The specimens were divided in 2 subgroups, and 2 different mastication simulations were applied: normal function (NF) and bruxism (B). A dye penetration test was used to detect microleakage, and the specimens were sectioned. A digital microscope (Zeiss) was used for analysis and to calculate the percentage of leakage in relation to the height of the tooth. Data were subjected to the Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests (α=.05).
Results:
Microleakage was identified in all groups. VE reported the highest leakage with a mean of 13.0%, followed by ultraHT (4.8%), HT (3.6%), and BC (3.0%). No significant difference was detected between the 2 simulation programs (normal function and bruxism). However, VE and the zirconia group HT exhibited a significant difference (P<.014), whereas no significant difference was noted among the zirconia groups or the polymer-containing groups BC and VE.
Conclusions:
Thin-walled restorations made of CAD-CAM composite resin and zirconia exhibited reduced microleakage compared with the polymer-containing ceramic. Thus, from the specific viewpoint of microleakage, CAD-CAM composite resins and zirconia seem to be suitable materials for thin-walled complete crowns.
