Performance of Dental Ceramics: Challenges for Improvements

Abstract

The clinical success of modern dental ceramics depends on an array of factors, ranging from initial physical properties of the material itself, to the fabrication and clinical procedures that inevitably damage these brittle materials, and the oral environment. Understanding the influence of these factors on clinical performance has engaged the dental, ceramics, and engineering communities alike. The objective of this review is to first summarize clinical, experimental, and analytic results reported in the recent literature. Additionally, it seeks to address how this new information adds insight into predictive test procedures and reveals challenges for future improvements.

Fracture strength of ceramic monolithic crown systems of different thickness

“…All-ceramic crowns are increasingly popular due to their excellent aesthetics and biocompatibility and acceptable strength (1). Of the all-ceramic materials available today, yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (Y-TZP) exhibit the greatest fracture strength and are comparable to the gold standard in dental crown restorations thus far, metal-ceramic crowns based on high-noble alloy (1).…”

“…Of the all-ceramic materials available today, yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (Y-TZP) exhibit the greatest fracture strength and are comparable to the gold standard in dental crown restorations thus far, metal-ceramic crowns based on high-noble alloy (1). Crowns made of Y-TZP have been used for both anterior and posterior restorations.…”

“…3 mol% yttria. At an optimal grain size, the tetragonal grains can expand at the crack tip and trans-form to a monoclinic, stable phase and prevent cracks from developing (1). To enhance the translucency of Y-TZP, some manufacturers have altered the grain size and/or added other dopants, e.g.…”

Three-dimensional finite-element analysis of a single implant-supported zirconia framework and its effect on stress distribution in D4 (maxilla) and D2 (mandible) bone quality

“…All-ceramic restorations cannot be used for implant-supported prosthesis, because ceramics are brittle and susceptible to failure beyond a critical stress, which is dependent on the internal and surface flaw distributions, and their fracture problems have not been solved completely. [6] In recent years, Y-TZP (yttrium oxide partially stabilized) frameworks are frequently used in dental implant-supported prosthesis due to their superior durability and aesthetics. In our study, we used a Y-TZP framework for this reason.…”

Surface treatments for repair of feldspathic, leucite- and lithium disilicate-reinforced glass ceramics using composite resin

“…However, ceramics without metallic support are prone to crack propagation (1). The feldspathic ceramics used as veneer are commonly affected by shipping, fracture or excessive wear, mainly when supported by zirconia frameworks (2).…”