Durability and Weibull Characteristics of Lithium Disilicate Crowns Bonded on Abutments with Knife-Edge and Large Chamfer Finish Lines after Cyclic Loading

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the durability of lithium disilicate crowns bonded on abutments prepared with two types of finish lines after long-term cyclic loading. Materials and Methods: Pressed lithium disilicate all-ceramic molar crowns were bonded (Variolink II) to epoxy abutments (height: 5.5 mm, phi: 7.5 mm, conicity: 6 degrees) (N= 20) with either knife-edge (KE) or large chamfer (LC) finish lines. Each assembly was submitted to cyclic loading (1,200,000x; 200 N; 1 Hz) in water and then tested until fracture in a universal testing machine (1 mm/min). Failure types were classified and further evaluated under stereomicroscope and SEM. The data (N) were analyzed using one-way ANOVA. Weibull distribution values including the Weibull modulus (m), characteristic strength (0), probability of failure at 5% (0.05), 1% (0.01), and correlation coefficient were calculated. Results: Type of finish line did not significantly influence the mean fracture strength of pressed ceramic crowns (KE: 1655 +/- 353 N; LC: 1618 +/- 263 N) (p = 0.7898). Weibull distribution presented lower shape value (m) of KE (m = 5.48; CI: 3.5 to 8.6) compared to LC (m = 7.68; CI: 5.2 to 11.3). Characteristic strengths (0) (KE: 1784.9 N; LC: 1712.1 N) were higher than probability of failure at 5% (0.05) (KE: 1038.1 N; LC: 1163.4 N) followed by 1% (0.01) (KE: 771 N; LC: 941.1 N), with a correlation coefficient of 0.966 for KE and 0.924 for LC. Type V failures (severe fracture of the crown and/or tooth) were more common in both groups. SEM findings showed that fractures occurred mainly from the cement/ceramic interface at the occlusal side of the crowns. Conclusion: Lithium disilicate ceramic crowns bonded onto abutment teeth with KE preparation resulted in similar fracture strength to those bonded on abutments with LC finish line. Clinical Significance: Pressed lithium disilicate ceramic crowns may not require invasive finish line preparations since finish line type did not impair the strength after aging conditions.