Effect of different preparation finishing procedures on the marginal and internal fit of CAD-CAM-produced restorations: A microcomputed tomography evaluation

Comparison of loupes versus microscope-enhanced CAD-CAM crown preparations: A microcomputed tomography analysis of marginal gaps

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Long-term restoration success depends on a precision marginal fit to prevent marginal leakage and caries. The successful fit of a computer-aided design and computer-aided manufactured (CAD-CAM) crown may be affected by different workflow variables, including preparation, scanning, crown design, milling, sintering, and cementation. Discrepancies in any of these steps may result in poor marginal and internal fit. Evidence suggests that tooth preparation may be the most important step in the workflow for a successful outcome. Compared with the traditional means of crown preparation using the naked eye or loupes, the dental operating microscope provides higher magnification and more direct illumination. However, the impact of high magnification during preparation on the marginal quality of CAD-CAM crowns is unclear.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this in vitro study was to compare marginal fits of CAD-CAM crowns fabricated after initial preparation with loupes and subsequent preparation refinement with either loupes or a microscope. The null hypothesis was that no significant difference would be found in the marginal gap between the preparations with loupes and those with a microscope.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Mounted extracted molars (N=18) received initial crown preparations with a coarse grit, rounded shoulder, diamond rotary instrument with loupes of ×3.0 magnification. The teeth were then randomly divided into 2 groups and refined for an additional 2 minutes with fine grit, rounded shoulder, diamond rotary instruments with either loupes (LOUP) or a microscope up to ×10.0 magnification (DOM). The prepared teeth were scanned with an intraoral scanner to fabricate zirconia-reinforced lithium silicate crowns manufactured with a 4-axis milling machine, sintered in a dental furnace in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, and cemented with self-adhesive resin cement. All teeth with crowns were mounted and scanned with a microcomputed tomography (μCT) system at 21-μm nominal voxel size. The resulting Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) images were imported into a semiautomatic segmentation software program. Marginal and absolute gaps were measured at 24 consistent circumferential points per specimen. Absolute gaps were labeled, and the total volume was calculated. Paired and unpaired t tests were used for statistical analysis (α=.05).

RESULTS

The mean marginal gap was 145.0 ±259.6 μm for LOUP and 35.6 ±110.6 μm for DOM, with a statistically significant difference (P<.001). The mean gap volume for LOUP was 0.975 ±0.811 mm3, and 0.250 ±0.477 mm3 for DOM, also statistically significantly different (P=.023). A significant difference was found between the absolute and marginal gaps for LOUP (P=.007), but for DOM, the difference was not significant (P=.063).

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated that the higher magnification used during tooth preparation played a significant role in the size of marginal gaps present around CAD-CAM crowns. Crown preparations finished by using fine grit diamond rotary instruments with a microscope at higher magnification than loupes resulted in a more precise marginal fit with smaller gaps.

Effects of design software program and manufacturing method on the marginal and internal adaptation of esthetic crowns for primary teeth: A microcomputed tomography evaluation

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The adaptation of digitally produced crowns is affected by the design software program and manufacturing method. The effect of artificial intelligence (AI) software program design on the adaptation of the crowns is unclear and comparative evaluations should be documented.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to assess the marginal and internal gaps, the absolute marginal discrepancies, and the 3-dimensional (3D) discrepancy volumes of the resin-based milled and 3D printed crowns for primary teeth designed with computer-aided design (CAD) and AI software programs by using microcomputed tomography (µCT).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A total of 40 resin-based esthetic crowns were produced for a prepared typodont tooth (right mandibular primary second molar) according to the design software program (CAD and AI) and manufacturing method (milling and 3D printing) (n=10). Four experimental groups were generated as CAD-milled, CAD-3D printed, AI-milled, and AI-3D printed. The marginal, axial, and occlusal gap values, the absolute marginal discrepancies, and the 3D discrepancy volumes of the specimens were measured by using µCT. The data were analyzed by using 2-way ANOVA and the Tukey HSD tests (α=.05).

RESULTS

The lowest value for the marginal gap (54 ±43 µm) was observed in the CAD-milled group and the marginal gap value of the AI-3D printed group was significantly lower than the AI-milled group (P<.05). The lowest value for the axial gap (63 ±7 µm) was observed in the AI-3D printed group, and the highest value (145 ±58 µm) was observed in the CAD-milled group; the result for the occlusal gap value was opposite. The highest absolute marginal discrepancy value was observed in the CAD-milled group. The 3D discrepancy volumes increased in the order of the CAD-3D printed, AI-milled, CAD-milled, and AI-3D printed groups.

CONCLUSIONS

The marginal and internal gap values of the resin-based crowns were affected by the design software program and manufacturing method; however, tested groups showed clinically acceptable gap values.

Numerical Study of the Mechanical Behaviour of Wedge-Shaped Defect Filling Materials

This paper deals with direct restorations of teeth with non-carious cervical lesions (NCCL). NCCL defects are capable of gradual growth and are accompanied by the degradation of the surrounding tissue. Direct restorative treatment, in which the cavity is filled with a cementing agent, is considered to be an accessible and common treatment option. The study included simulations of the teeth without lesions, the teeth with V and U lesions and the tooth-restorative system. Parameterised numerical tooth models were constructed. Two cases with defect depths of 0.8 mm and ~1.7 mm and three variants with fillet radii of the defect end of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 mm were considered. The effect of two biomaterials for restorations was studied, namely Herculite XRV (Kerr Corp, Orange, CA, USA) and Charisma (Heraeus Kulzer GmbH, Hanau, Germany). The models were deformed with a vertical load of 100 to 1000 N from the antagonist tooth. The tooth-restorative system was considered, taking into consideration the contact interaction in the interface areas with the tooth tissues. Within the limits of the research, the character of the distribution of the deformation characteristics and their dependence on the level of loading, the depth of the defect and the radius of the curvature of the "wedge" were established.