Evaluation of marginal and internal fit of lithium disilicate CAD-CAM crowns with different finish lines by using a micro-CT technique

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Whether the precision of fit of computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) complete crowns is affected by the finish line configuration is unclear.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the marginal and internal fit of CAD-CAM ceramic crowns made from lithium disilicate based on 3 different finish lines (rounded shoulder, chamfer, feather-edge).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty anterior lithium disilicate complete crowns (n=10 per finish line group) were fabricated by following a completely digital workflow based on digital scans made with the TRIOS scanner. The crowns were adhesively cemented on duplicate dies of the respective prepared Typodont teeth, and the marginal gap, absolute marginal discrepancy, and internal gap were evaluated by using microcomputed tomography (μCT). A total of 66 values were obtained for each specimen from sagittal and transaxial sections, and a rendering software program was used to calculate the volume of the cement gap for each specimen by means of 3D region growing. Two-way ANOVA, Tukey post hoc tests with Bonferroni correction, and the Kruskal-Wallis test were used to compare the values between the experimental groups (α=.05).

RESULTS: Marginal gap and absolute marginal discrepancy values were statistically significantly different between groups. In ascending order, marginal gap values were 23 ±14 μm for rounded shoulder, 54 ±28 μm for chamfer, and 96 ±36 μm for feather-edge finish lines. Absolute marginal discrepancy values were 96 ±34 μm for rounded shoulder, 124 ±37 μm for chamfer, and 157 ±34 μm for feather-edge finish lines. Internal gap values were 111 ±14 μm for feather-edge, 136 ±22 μm for chamfer, and 168 ±25 μm for rounded shoulder finish lines. The differences in cement volume between groups were not statistically significant (P=.200).

CONCLUSIONS: All 3 finish lines produced marginal gaps within the range of clinically accep table values. Lithium disilicate CAD crowns with a rounded shoulder finish line had the best marginal fit but the poorest internal fit, and lithium disilicate CAD crowns with a feather-edge finish line had the best internal fit but the poorest marginal fit.