Within the limitations of the present study, it is suggested that monolithic zirconia crown with chamfer width of 0.5 mm and occlusal thickness of 0.5 mm can be used in the molar region in terms of fracture resistance.

No abstract

Zirconia (3Y-TZP) dental prostheses are widely used in clinical dentistry. However, the effect of ultrasonic scaling performed as a part of professional tooth cleaning on 3Y-TZP dental prostheses, especially in conjunction with low-temperature degradation (LTD), has not been fully investigated. The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of ultrasonic scaling and LTD on the surface properties of 3Y-TZP in relation to bacterial adhesion on the treated surface. 3Y-TZP specimens (4 × 4 × 2 mm) were polished and then subjected to autoclaving at 134°C for 100 h to induce LTD, followed by 10 rounds of ultrasonic scaling using a steel scaler tip for 1 min each. Surface roughness, crystalline structure, wettability, and hardness were analyzed by optical interferometry, X-ray diffraction analysis, contact angle measurement, and nano-indentation technique, respectively. Subsequently, bacterial adhesion onto the treated 3Y-TZP surface was evaluated using Streptococcus mitis and S. oralis. The results demonstrated that the combination of ultrasonic scaling and LTD significantly increased the Sa value (surface roughness parameter) of the polished 3Y-TZP surface from 1.6 nm to 117 nm. LTD affected the crystalline structure, causing phase transformation from the tetragonal to the monoclinic phase, and decreased both the contact angle and surface hardness. However, bacterial adhesion was not influenced by these changes in surface properties. The present study suggests that ultrasonic scaling may be acceptable for debridement of 3Y-TZP dental prostheses because it did not facilitate bacterial adhesion even in the combination with LTD, although it did cause slight roughening of the surface.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether different fabrication processes, such as the computer‐aided design/computer‐aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) system or the manual build‐up technique, affect the fracture resistance of composite resin‐based crowns. Lava Ultimate (LU), Estenia C&B (EC&B), and lithium disilicate glass‐ceramic IPS e.max press (EMP) were used. Four types of molar crowns were fabricated: CAD/CAM‐generated composite resin‐based crowns (LU crowns); manually built‐up monolayer composite resin‐based crowns (EC&B‐monolayer crowns); manually built‐up layered composite resin‐based crowns (EC&B‐layered crowns); and EMP crowns. Each type of crown was cemented to dies and the fracture resistance was tested. EC&B‐layered crowns showed significantly lower fracture resistance compared with LU and EMP crowns, although there was no significant difference in flexural strength or fracture toughness between LU and EC&B materials. Micro‐computed tomography and fractographic analysis showed that decreased strength probably resulted from internal voids in the EC&B‐layered crowns introduced by the layering process. There was no significant difference in fracture resistance among LU, EC&B‐monolayer, and EMP crowns. Both types of composite resin‐based crowns showed fracture loads of >2000 N, which is higher than the molar bite force. Therefore, CAD/CAM‐generated crowns, without internal defects, may be applied to molar regions with sufficient fracture resistance.

No abstract