Effect of loading conditions on bi-axial flexure strength of dental cements.

A ball-on-three-ball bi-axial flexure test was used to evaluate the flexure strengths of five kinds of dental cements (zinc phosphate, polycarboxylate, glass ionomer, silicate, and zinc oxide-eugenol cements). The bi-axial flexure strengths of zinc phosphate cement discs of variable dimensions were also measured to determine the size effects of test specimens. Finite element stress analyses were performed on disc specimens which were subjected to both a concentrated load and a uniformly distributed load. The observed values were compared with the theoretical value calculated by the finite element method. A ball-on-three-ball bi-axial flexure test could not be used for thicker specimens, since the fracture origin of these specimens is more likely to occur on the loaded side.     

Tensile stress in glass-ceramic crowns: effect of flaws and cement voids.

The objective of this study was to analyze the relative effect of loading site, occlusal thickness, ceramic flaws, elastic modulus of the cement, and voids in the cement layer on tensile stress that develops in molar glass-ceramic crowns under applied loads. Finite-element stress analyses were performed. Resin cement with a thickness of 0.05 mm was used. A central conical flaw (0.05 mm [diameter] x 0.05 mm) and a circular grooved flaw located under the cusp tips were included in all flaw cases. A void space confined within the occlusal region of the cement layer was also included in selected cases. For a ceramic thickness of 0.5 mm and a vertical distributed load applied at a distance of 1.3 mm from the vertical axis, the maximum tensile stresses were 100 MPa for a crown with flaws and a void, 87 MPa for a crown with no flaws and a void, and 75 MPa for a crown with flaws and no void. For a 1.5-mm-thick crown with flaws and a void, the tensile stress decreased to 22 MPa. When the load of 600 N was concentrated at the central point of the occlusal region, the peak tensile stress in a crown with flaws and no void was increased to 325 MPa. For the conditions analyzed in this study a large void in a flawed occlusal region of a thin molar crown (0.5 mm) is proposed as a mechanism of crown failure.     

Shear bond strengths of prosthodontic adhesive systems to a nickel-chromium-beryllium alloy.

Panavia, a composite resin luting agent containing phosphate monomers, bonds chemically to air-abraded base metal alloys and is particularly suited for cementing resin-bonded retainers. Another adhesive methodology (Silicoater system) incorporates a pyrolytically applied silica layer to metal substrates to promote bonding of a resin adhesive. The object of this study was to compare prosthodontic adhesive systems that incorporated the Silicoater system and/or Panavia. The results showed that the surface treatment that provided significantly higher shear bond strengths was the Silicoater system and a layer of unfilled resin. A second test evaluated use of Panavia as a metal opaquing material beneath laboratory light-curing resins. Results showed that Panavia Opaque material was displaced peripherally during placement of overlying laboratory composite resin veneers. This resulted in an uneven intermediate layer of Panavia.