Fracture load and chewing simulation of zirconia and stainless-steel crowns for primary molars.

Abstract

Aesthetic alternatives to stainless-steel crowns for restoring primary molars attain growing interest. We studied the mechanical properties of prefabricated zirconia crowns and conventional crowns. Three brands of prefabricated zirconia crowns were compared with computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) zirconia crowns, preveneered stainless-steelcrowns, and conventional stainless-steel crowns regarding: (i) fracture load under each of three conditions [no pretreatment, artificial aging in saliva for 12wk, and after chewing simulation/thermocycling (1.68×106 cycles/5-55°C)]; and (ii) survival rate during chewing simulation, considering decementation, fracture, chipping, fatigue cracks, and occlusal holes. Without pretreatment, the prefabricated zirconia crowns showed mean fracture load values between 893N and 1,582N, while the corresponding values for CAD/CAM zirconia crowns and preveneered stainless-steel crowns were 2,444N and 6,251N. Preveneered stainless-steel crowns showed significantly lower fracture loads after artificial aging (5,348N after saliva aging; 3,778N after chewing simulation) than without artificial aging, whereas the fracture load of zirconia crowns was not influenced negatively. The survival rate of the different groups of zirconia crowns and preveneered stainless-steel crowns during chewing simulation was 100%, but only 41.7% for the stainless-steel crowns. These in-vitro data suggest that prefabricated zirconia crowns are aesthetically and durable alternatives to stainless-steel crowns for primary molars.