Impact of CAD/CAM burs lifetime on surface properties of dental zirconia: Implications for biocompatibility of custom abutments.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of the deterioration of computer aided design/computer aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) burs during zirconia milling, on surface roughness, contact angle, and fibroblast viability.

Materials And Methods: Ceramic blocks were milled and 75 ceramic disks (8 × 1.5 mm) made and allocated into three groups (n = 25): G1-brand new 2L and 1L burs, G2-2L bur at the end of lifetime and brand new 1L bur and G3-both burs at the end of their lifetimes. Roughness (Ra, Rq, and Rz) was evaluated using a 3D optical profilometer, the contact angle by the sessile drop method and the cell viability of the mouse NIH/3T3 fibroblast, using the Alamar Blue assay at intervals of 24, 48, and 72 h (ISO 10993-5). Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests (p ≤ 0.05).

Results: Roughness increased as the burs deteriorated and G3 (0.27 ± 0.04) presented a higher value for Ra (p < 0.001). The highest contact angle was observed in G3 (86.2 ± 2.66) when compared with G1 (63.7 ± 12.49) and G2 (75.3 ± 6.36) (p < 0.001). Alamar Blue indicated an increase in cell proliferation, with no significant differences among the groups at 24 and 72 h (p > 0.05).

Conclusions: The deterioration of the burs increased the surface roughness and decreased the wettability, but did not interfere in cell viability and proliferation.

Clinical Significance: The use of custom zirconia abutments represents an effective strategy for single crowns restorations. Our findings suggest that these abutments can be efficiently milled using CAD/CAM burs within their recommended lifetime.