Abstract

All-ceramic fixed dental prostheses (FDPs) tend to fracture at the connector regions due to high stress concentration at these areas influenced by their design. This study was performed as an adjunct to an existing clinical study to evaluate the influence of the different radii of curvature of gingival embrasure on the stress distribution of a three-unit all-ceramic implanted supported FDP. Three three-dimensional (3D) models were created by scanning two titanium dental implants, their suitable zirconia abutments, and a patient-retrieved dental prosthesis using a micro-CT scanner. The radius of curvature of the gingival embrasure for the distal connector of the FDP was altered to measure 0.25 mm, 0.50 mm, and 0.75 mm. A finite element analysis (FEA) software (ABAQUS) was used to evaluate the impact of different connector designs on the distribution of stresses. Maximum Principal Stress data was collected from the individual components (veneer, framework, and abutments). The radius of curvature of gingival embrasure had a significant influence on the stress distribution at the assessed components. The tensile peak stresses at all structures were highest in the 0.25 mm model, while the 0.50 mm and 0.75 mm models presented similar values and more uniform stress distribution.

Highlights

  • The development of ceramics with better physical properties [1,2,3,4], along with the inherent characteristics of this material [4], and the public demand for metal-free prosthesis [5,6,7,8,9] have made all-ceramic fixed dental prostheses (FDPs) gain popularity and acceptance in the dental community over metal-ceramics

  • This study demonstrated that finite element analysis (FEA) is an excellent tool to understand the distribution of the stresses on a three-unit all-ceramic implant-supported FDP with different radii of curvature of gingival embrasure

  • Within the limitations of this study, the results demonstrated that the radius of curvature of gingival embrasure had a significant influence on the stress distribution of the components assessed

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Summary

Introduction

The development of ceramics with better physical properties [1,2,3,4], along with the inherent characteristics of this material (biocompatibility and superior aesthetics) [4], and the public demand for metal-free prosthesis [5,6,7,8,9] have made all-ceramic FDP gain popularity and acceptance in the dental community over metal-ceramics. Yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (3Y-TZP) demonstrates high flexural strength (800–1500 MPa) [10] and fracture resistance, which makes 3Y-TZP the first choice for framework structure in all-ceramic dental prosthesis systems, especially in posterior sites [1,11,12], with survival rates of 90.4% after 5 years [13] and 91.3% after 10 years [14]. Despite their excellent mechanical characteristics, zirconia ceramics are usually opaque and need a veneer layer, usually glass-ceramic, to mimic the natural aesthetics of teeth [8,15,16,17]. The design of the distal connector of a three-unit FDP was modified to evaluate the stress distribution with varying radii of gingival curvature

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