The effect of die-spacing on crown retention

Ten extracted molar teeth were prepared to a standardised complete crown preparation. Five stone dies were constructed for each tooth and coated with zero, two, four, six, and eight layers of a paint-on die-spacer. Crowns were fabricated on each die and the force required for removal from each tooth was measured prior to cementation. The crown elevation and force required for removal were measured after luting with zinc phosphate cement. The force required to remove the crowns before cementation decreased with increasing layers of die-spacer. Following cementation, the mean crown elevation decreased from 547 micrometers (zero layers) to 38 micrometers (eight layers); while the mean removal force increased from 250 N (zero layers) to 375 N (eight layers).