Polymer infiltrated ceramic network structures for resistance to fatigue fracture and wear.

Objective: To investigate fatigue fracture resistance and wear behavior of a polymer infiltrated ceramic network (PICN) material (ENAMIC, Vita Zahnfabrik).

Methods: Anatomically shaped ENAMIC monolithic crowns were milled using a CAD/CAM system. The crowns were cemented on aged dentin-like composite abutments (Z100, 3M ESPE) with resin-based cement (Vita DUO Cement, Vita).

On the interfacial fracture resistance of resin-bonded zirconia and glass-infiltrated graded zirconia.

Objective: A major limiting factor for the widespread use of zirconia in prosthetic dentistry is its poor resin-cement bonding capabilities. We show that this deficiency can be overcome by infiltrating the zirconia cementation surface with glass. Current methods for assessing the fracture resistance of resin-ceramic bonds are marred by uneven stress distribution at the interface, which may result in erroneous interfacial fracture resistance values.

A fractographic study of clinically retrieved zirconia-ceramic and metal-ceramic fixed dental prostheses.

Objectives: A recent 3-year randomized controlled trial (RCT) of tooth supported three- to five-unit zirconia-ceramic and metal-ceramic posterior fixed dental prostheses (FDPs) revealed that veneer chipping and fracture in zirconia-ceramic systems occurred more frequently than those in metal-ceramic systems [1]. This study seeks to elucidate the underlying mechanisms responsible for the fracture phenomena observed in this RCT using a descriptive fractographic analysis.

Methods: Vinyl-polysiloxane impressions of 12 zirconia-ceramic and 6 metal-ceramic FDPs with veneer fractures were taken from the patients at the end of a mean observation of 40.