Approach for valuating the significance of laboratory simulation.

Objective: The aim of this investigation was to compare the clinical survival rate of all-ceramic FPDs with failures during in vitro simulation.

Methods: 40 anterior FPDs were manufactured from lithiumdisilicate ceramic and alumina-oxide ceramic. The FPDs were adhesively bonded to human teeth and artificially aged to investigate the survival rate during thermal cycling and mechanical loading (TCML(1); 3.