Finite element analysis estimates of cement microfracture under complete veneer crowns

Long-term clinical failures of complete veneer crowns are commonly attributed to microleakage of the cement. Excessive stress or fatigue cycling may create cement microfractures and promote microleakage. Two-dimensional (2D) finite element analysis (FEA) was selected to determine stress levels and distributions on dental cements resulting from 10 MPa occlusal loads on single-unit complete artificial veneer crowns during various clinical conditions. Sixteen 2D-FEA computer models were generated for a mandibular first premolar to study the effects of (1) marginal configuration (shoulder for all-ceramic crown versus chamfer for type III gold alloy crown), (2) four types of cement (zinc phosphate, polycarboxylate, glass ionomer and composite resin), and (3) two thicknesses of cement (25 and 100 microns) for single-cycle loads and fatigue loading. There was almost no difference between a chamfer and shoulder marginal configuration except at the edge of the margin where the chamfer finish lines reached 2 to 8 times greater stresses. There were minimal effects for thickness of cement and marginal configurations. Stresses were slightly less for thicker cement. Fatigue analysis was based on estimated stress versus number of cycle curves for cements and resulted in stresses below the estimated endurance limit. If the average occlusal loading levels were 10 MPa, there did not appear to be a risk of microfracture in dental cement because of mechanical loading.