Fracture resistance of CAD-CAM monolithic ceramic and veneered zirconia molar crowns after aging in a mastication simulator.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: The demand for ceramic restorations has increased over the past years, and now various machinable materials can be used for chairside computer-aided design and computer aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) systems. Limited studies of these new materials make it difficult to evaluate their mechanical performance, advantages, and limitations. PURPOSE: The purpose of this in vitro study was to investigate the fracture resistance of CAD-CAM monolithic ceramic and veneered zirconia molar crowns after thermomechanical aging. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A mandibular first molar tooth was prepared, and 12 different experimental groups were generated (n=10). An aging procedure was performed by subjecting the specimens to 12x10(5) mechanical cycles and 5000 thermocycles. Survival analysis was performed according to the thermomechanical aging. The fracture resistance (load at fracture) of all specimens was evaluated with 1-way analysis of variance after the means had been compared using the Tukey honest significant difference test and Weibull distributions of the experimental groups (alpha=.05). RESULTS: According to the results, the differences between the fracture resistance of the groups were found to be significant. Restorations in the dual network ceramic crown group fractured catastrophically during thermomechanical aging. In all groups, the highest value was found for monolithic zirconia, followed by monolithic lithium disilicate crowns (P<.05). Both of the monolithic crowns made of lithium disilicate derivates and zirconia crowns veneered with lithium disilicate ceramic showed no differences from each other (P>.05). The Weibull modulus (m) ranged from 4.22 to 8.58, and conventionally veneered and overpressed zirconia showed the lowest Weibull modulus values among the tested groups, indicating greater variation of the data. CONCLUSIONS: The highest fracture resistance was observed for yttria-stabilized zirconia crowns, followed by lithium disilicate derivates. Veneered zirconia restorations generally showed lower resistance than these ceramics. The dual network ceramic crowns fractured during thermomechanical aging.