COMPARATIVE STUDY ON THE FRACTURE STRENGTH OF EMPRESS 2 CERAMIC AND TARGIS-VECTRIS CROWN

Abstract

Due to an increasing interest in esthetics and concerns about toxic and allergic reactions to certain alloys, patients and dentists have been looking for metal-free tooth-colored restorations. Recent improvement in technology of new all-ceramic materials and composite materials has broadened the options for esthetic single crown restorations. The aim of this investigation was to study the fracture strength of the metal-free posterior single crowns fabricated using two recently introduced systems, Empress 2 ceramic and Targis-Vectris. Forty premolar-shaped stainless steel dies with the 1mm-wide circumferential shoulder were prepared. Ten cylindrical crowns having a diameter of 8.0mm and total height of 7.5mm were fabricated for each crown system respectively(PFM, Empress staining technique, Empress 2 layering technique, and Targis- Vectris). The crowns were filled with cement and placed on the stainless steel dies with firm finger pressure. The crowns were then stored in distilled water at room temperature for 24 hours before testing. The crowns were tested for fracture strength in an Instron universal testing machine (Instron 6022). With a crosshead speed of 1mm/min the center of the occlusal surface of the crown was loaded using a 4-mm-diameter stainless steel ball until fracture occurred. The fracture surfaces of the crowns were gold coated and examined using scanning electron microscopy(Jeol JSM-840 Joel Ltd., Akishima, Tokyo, Japan). Within the parameters of this study the following conclusions were drawn: 1. The mean fracture strength for PFM crowns was 5829()N; for Empress staining technique the fracture strength was 1697()N; for Empress 2 Layering technique the fracture strength was 1781N()N, and the fracture strength for Targis- Vectris was 3093()N. 2. The fracture strength of the PFM crowns was significantly higher than that of the Empress 2 and the Targis-Vectris crowns (P<0.05). 3. The fracture strength of the Targis-Vectris crowns was significantly higher than that of the Empress 2 crowns (P<0.05). 4. No statistical difference was found when Empress staining technique was compared with Empress 2 layering technique. 5. The SEM image of fracture surface of Empress 2 crown showed a very dense microstructure of the lithium disilicate crystals and the SEM image of fracture surface of Targis-Vectris crown showed indentations of Vectris and some fibers tom off from Vectris.