Effect of machining damage on the surface roughness and flexural strength of CAD-CAM materials

Computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) materials are available for different types of restorations. However, the longevity of the material is affected by chipping, milling damage, flexural strength, and surface roughness, and a standard edge chipping test or standardized measurements are unavailable for monitoring edge chipping of rotary instrument-milled materials.

The purpose of this in vitro study was to analyze the surface roughness and edge chipping of different CAD-CAM diamond rotary instrument-milled dental material bars, correlate the effect of machining damage with material strength, and compare the flexural strength of rotary instrument-milled and sectioned CAD-CAM blocks.

Five dental CAD-CAM materials were tested: lithium disilicate glass-ceramic (IPS e.max CAD), leucite-reinforced glass-ceramic (IPS Empress CAD); feldspathic porcelain (Vitablocs Mark II); feldspar ceramic-polymer infiltrated (Enamic), and composite resin (Lava Ultimate). Rectangular bars were designed and milled for each material (n=10). The surface roughness of the bars was measured using a profilometer. All edges of 3 selected bars were analyzed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for the chip length, depth, and area. The 3-point bend test was used to test the flexural strength of rotary instrument-milled and saw-cut bars with the same dimensions. Analysis of variance and the Tukey honestly significant difference post hoc test were used to determine the difference among the groups (α=.05).

IPS e.max CAD had the highest surface roughness and Lava Ultimate the lowest. Lava Ultimate had the smallest chipping factor and IPS Empress CAD the largest. The surface location significantly affected the chipping depth, area, and length (P<.05). A strong correlation was found between the decrease in flexural strength and the chipping length on the central tensile side of the rotary instrument-milled materials (R²=.62, P=.01), as well as the chipping depth (R²=.44, P=.01).

Edge chipping was significantly associated with the material type, milling surface, and edge location and strongly correlated with a decrease in flexural strength.