Mechanical behavior of non veneered three unit fixed partial dentures of alumina-zirconia under cyclic load in wet environment

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the fatigue behavior in wet environment of a ZTA three unit FPDs processed via CAD-CAM. Thirty four three unit FPDs (In-Ceram®Zirconia BZ blanks) were grinded through a CEREC In-Lab equipment followed by glass infltration and sandblasting. Those frameworks were then submitted to different number of load cycles (400 N, 1 Hz). The FPDs that did not fractured by fatigue were submitted to a bending test in order to determine the infuence of load cycling on its residual load. The non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis of those tests have shown with a 95% confdence, that there is a clear relation between the number of load cycles and its residual load. The fracture mode most frequently encountered on those FPDs was through the distal connector.