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J Am Dent Assoc, Vol 137, No suppl_1, 22S-31S.
© 2006 American Dental Association |
ARTICLES |
| ABSTRACT |
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Types of Studies Reviewed. The author identified and reviewed clinical studies from 1985 through 2006 that included CEREC-generated inlays, onlays or crowns. These studies were conducted in both private practice and university settings. The author summarized the findings as they relate to postoperative sensitivity, restoration fracture, color match, margin adaptation and clinical longevity.
Results. Although postoperative sensitivity was reported, it was due to mainly occlusal interferences. Long-term postoperative sensitivity was not a reported problem. Similar to other ceramic restorations, restoration fracture is the primary mode of failure for CEREC-generated restorations. Although margin wear is detected consistently, consequences of the wear leading to restoration failure were reported rarely. The survival probability of CEREC-generated restorations was reported to be approximately 97 percent for five years and 90 percent for 10 years.
Clinical Implications. The low rate of restoration fracture and long-term clinical survivability document the effectiveness of the CEREC system as a dependable, esthetic restorative option for patients.
Key Words: Computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing; ceramics; clinical studies; margin wear
The application of computer-aided design/ computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technology in dentistry is having a profound effect on both dental laboratories and clinics. The CEREC system (Sirona Dental Systems GmbH, Bensheim, Germany) is a chairside application of CAD/CAM technology for restorative dentistry that is marking its 20th year of clinical service.
The CEREC 1 unit was developed to fabricate inlays and onlays chairside for immediate cementation; thus, the majority of published long-term clinical studies on CEREC-generated restorations focus on inlays and onlays. Continual development of the hardware and software has expanded the restorative capabilities significantly. The current CEREC 3 system can fabricate inlays, onlays and posterior crowns, as well as anterior crowns and veneers. The variety of ceramic restorations that can be fabricated in a dental laboratory also can be fabricated chairside with the CEREC 3 system.
Dentists have expressed a number of concerns about CEREC-generated restorations since their introduction. The CAM process elicited obvious concerns about the adaptation and marginal fit of the milled restoration. The adhesively cemented ceramic materials used in CEREC-generated restorations raised concerns about fracture resistance, durability and clinical longevity. Clinical research has been published that documents the effectiveness of the CEREC system. In this article, I review this literature and summarize the status of chairside CAD/CAM restorations.
As adhesive materials and luting techniques have improved, more recent clinical studies have reported less postoperative sensitivity. Molin and Karlsson6 reported no sensitivity at any recall period for 20 Vitablocs Mark I inlays over five years. Heymann and colleagues7 reported no postoperative sensitivity at any recall interval in their four-year clinical trial of CEREC-generated inlays. In a randomized clinical trial of 80 Vitablocs Mark II and Paradigm (3M ESPE, St. Paul, Minn.) inlays, Fasbinder and colleagues8 reported one sensitive restoration at one week that was resolved by the second week. Sensitivity was not a factor over the three-year study period.
There are several possible reasons for the lack of significant postoperative sensitivity in chair-side CAD/CAM restorations. Careful isolation is required to accomplish the optical imaging of the preparation, which ensures that the cavity can be isolated for adhesive cementation. Good isolation maximizes the predictability of the adhesive luting process. The ability to deliver the restoration in a single appointment also may minimize postoperative sensitivity, as it prevents the potential for tooth contamination during the temporization phase owing to fracture or loss of the temporary restoration or leakage and contamination under the temporary cement.
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POSTOPERATIVE SENSITIVITY
TOP
ABSTRACT
POSTOPERATIVE SENSITIVITY
RESTORATION FRACTURE
COLOR MATCH
MARGIN ADAPTATION
CLINICAL LONGEVITY
CROWNS
CONCLUSIONS
REFERENCES
Early clinical studies on CEREC-generated restorations reported significant levels of postoperative sensitivity. In a study of 301 CEREC-generated inlays, Magnuson and colleagues1 reported 9 percent immediate postoperative sensitivity. Although most of the cases involving sensitivity resolved within one month, three cases persisted for six months and required endodontic treatment to resolve them. Sjögren and colleagues2 reported that 10 of 72 patients (13.8 percent) with 205 Vitablocs Mark I or II (Vita Zahn-fabrik, Bad Säckingen, Germany) inlays had postoperative sensitivity. Fasbinder and colleagues3 reported that 13 percent of 92 Vitablocs Mark II onlays were rated slightly sensitive at one week, and 4 percent were rated slightly sensitive at two weeks. All sensitivity was resolved by one month, and there was no postoperative sensitivity throughout the remainder of the three-year report. Otto4 and Otto and De Nisco5 reported 13 percent immediate sensitivity in 200 CEREC-generated inlays that they attributed to premature occlusal contact. Twelve of 17 cases resolved within a few days to three weeks. The remaining five cases resolved in seven months. Since the CEREC-generated restorations are placed in a single appointment, some postoperative sensitivity will be the result of occlusal interferences. The occlusal contacts may need to be equilibrated after the effects of the local anesthetic have dissipated and the patient has had the chance to live with the restoration.
The ability to deliver a restoration in a single appointment may minimize postoperative sensitivity, as it prevents the potential for tooth contamination.
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RESTORATION FRACTURE
TOP
ABSTRACT
POSTOPERATIVE SENSITIVITY
RESTORATION FRACTURE
COLOR MATCH
MARGIN ADAPTATION
CLINICAL LONGEVITY
CROWNS
CONCLUSIONS
REFERENCES
Mörmann and colleagues9 reported on the first 94 Vitablocs Mark I inlay restorations placed with the CEREC 1 system between September 1985 and August 1987. After three years, they reported two fractured inlays. This initial low level of restoration fracture has been repeated in a large number of clinical studies on CEREC-generated restorations1,2,4-23 (Table
).
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Insufficient porcelain thickness is one of the major contributors to the fracture of porcelain restorations. Fasbinder and colleagues8 reported that porcelain fracture was the primary failure mechanism for Vitablocs Mark II inlays, as two of the 40 inlays fractured over three years. They reported no fractured restorations for 40 Paradigm inlays.
Long-term studies have reported similar low fracture rates. Pallesen and van Dijken16 reported three fractured restorations in a randomized clinical trial of 32 Vitablocs Mark I and Dicor MCG inlays over eight years. One inlay fractured at three years, and the other two had marginal ridge fractures at five years. No tooth fractures were reported during the recall period. Otto and De Nisco5 reported an 8 percent failure rate for 200 Vitablocs Mark I inlays after 10 years of clinical service. Of the failures, eight were caused by ceramic fractures and three were caused by tooth fracture.
Posselt and Kerschbaum19 reported 35 failures over nine years in 2,328 inlays and onlays in 794 patients that were generated with CEREC 1 and CEREC 2 units. The majority of failures were caused by two inlay fractures (5.7 percent), six tooth fractures (17.1 percent), eight tooth extractions (22.9 percent) and eight (22.9 percent) restorations placed for occlusal reconstruction.
The consistent reports of low failure and restoration fracture rates document the clinical durability of the CEREC-generated restorations. Similar to other ceramic restorations, ceramic fracture and tooth fracture account for the primary failure mechanisms.24
| COLOR MATCH |
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Most of the published clinical studies on CEREC-generated restorations have involved restorations milled from monochromatic blocks that are polished at cementation, rather than stained and glazed. The final color of the restoration is a function of the mill block shade, the resin-based composite luting agent shade and the underlying tooth shade (Figure 1
).
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Fasbinder and colleagues18 reported a similar decrease in color match over three years for Vitablocs Mark II onlays. The onlays had a good color match at baseline (84 percent Alfa), which decreased by the one-year recall (63 percent Alfa) and remained relatively unchanged at the three-year recall (54 percent). A review of the color photographs taken at each recall examination indicated that the decrease in color match was due to a color shift in the tooth rather than a change in the color of the restoration. In a separate study, Fasbinder and colleagues8 reported a similar decrease in color match for Vitablocs Mark II inlays. However, Paradigm inlays presented a significantly better color match after three years (91 percent Alfa rating). None of the patients reported displeasure with the color of any of the inlays at any recall period.
CEREC-generated restorations can provide clinically acceptable esthetic restorations when polished and optimum natural tooth color matching when stained and glazed. There tends to be an increase in color mismatch over time that has been attributed to a change in natural tooth color and translucency, rather than a change in the color of the restoration.
| MARGIN ADAPTATION |
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Heymann and colleagues7 reported an increase in the wear of the luting agent at the occlusal margin of inlays over the first three years of clinical service, then a decrease in the amount of luting agent wear between three and four years. They did not identify inlay or enamel margin chipping as the luting agent began to wear. There was no margin staining or margin chipping associated with the cement wear.
Gladys and colleagues11 reported no significant difference in margin adaptation between Vitablocs Mark I and Dicor MGC porcelain inlays and P-50 resin-based composite inlays after three years; however, they noted margin detection for all materials as early as six months. Submargination involved approximately 50 percent of the total margin length for all three inlay systems. Gladys and colleagues11 also reported no recurrent caries and no marginal discoloration. In a study of 200 inlays, Otto and De Nisco5 reported that the occurrence of underfilled margins increased from 12 percent at baseline to 74 percent at 10 years, but they attributed no clinical failure to the margin wear.
Fasbinder and colleagues8 reported that margins were detectable clinically for Vitablocs Mark II and Paradigm inlays as early as six months. At the one-year recall, there was a significant difference in the margin adaptation, with the resin-based composite inlays having a greater percentage of nondetectable margins (91.4 percent) compared with those of the porcelain inlays (75.7 percent). By the three-year recall, there was no significant difference in margin detection between the composite and porcelain inlays, as both materials had 60 to 65 percent nondetectable margins.
Other studies have measured the resulting marginal gap due to luting agent wear over time. Berg and Derand13 measured the margin gaps in CEREC 1generated inlays. They reported distinct margin ditching present in all restorations after five years. The mean horizontal gap was 373 ± 147 standard deviation (SD) micrometers, and the mean vertical depth was 111 ± 67 µm. There was no significant difference between molars and premolars. There was no correlation between the material in the antagonist tooth and margin ditching.
Posselt and Kerschbaum19 reported on 2,328 inlays and onlays placed in 794 patients that were fabricated with CEREC 1 and CEREC 2 units in one private practice. They selected 44 restorations at random to evaluate the margin gap. They reported an average margin gap of 236.1 ± 96.8 µm. Almost one-half (47.7 percent) of the measured margins exhibited an underfilled margin.
Bindl and Mörmann26 compared the margin adaptation of Vitablocs Mark II crowns fabricated with CEREC 1 and CEREC 2 units. They reported a significantly improved margin adaptation for CEREC 2generated crowns (207 ± 63 µm) compared with CEREC 1generated crowns (308 ± 95 µm). They evaluated the margin adaptation with a scanning electron microscope at x 200 magnification and reported that 97 percent of the evaluated margins were continuous with slight submargination. The authors indicated that the margin gaps were greater than those previously reported for the CEREC system. Mörmann and Schug27 compared the precision of fit between the CEREC 1 and CEREC 2 systems. The mean margin interface was 84 ± 38 µm for CEREC 1generated inlays and 56 ± 27 µm for CEREC 2generated inlays. In a study on how the degree of taper in crown preparations affects the margin fit, Nakamura and colleagues28 reported a margin gap of 53 to 67 µm for CEREC 3generated crowns. In a study comparing the margin fit of CEREC 3generated and laboratory-fabricated onlays, Denissen and colleagues29 reported a margin gap of 85 µm for CEREC 3generated onlays, which was not significantly different from that of the laboratory-fabricated onlays. Although the laboratory studies cited reported margin gaps well below 100 µm, the cited clinical studies reported larger margin gaps, as the luting agent wears from the margin.
It is expected that well-fitting margins will maximize the longevity of a restoration. Resin-based composite cement wear at the margin leading to ditching has been reported in almost all clinical evaluations of CERECgenerated inlays (Figure 2
). Despite the detected margin wear, little margin discoloration or secondary caries was reported. This would indicate that the margin wear is a surface phenomenon and is not accompanied by a breakdown in the adhesive bond to the tooth. The ditching tends to be localized to the occlusal surfaces of the restoration as the proximal surfaces reveal minimal change at the margin. Microfill resin-based composite cements seem to show a superior wear resistance compared with hybrid resin-based composite cements.
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| CLINICAL LONGEVITY |
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Hickel and Manhart24 reviewed clinical studies in the dental literature during the 1990s to determine annual failure rates of posterior restorations in stress-bearing areas. They reported annual failure rates of zero to 7 percent for amalgam restorations, zero to 9 percent for direct composite restorations, 1.4 to 14.4 percent for glass ionomer restorations, zero to 11.8 percent for composite inlays, zero to 7.5 percent for ceramic inlays, zero to 5.9 percent for cast gold inlays and zero to 4.4 percent for CAD/CAM ceramic restorations. Recurrent caries was the primary reason for the failure of the direct restorations (amalgam, composite and glass ionomer). Bulk fracture of the restoration and tooth fracture were the most frequent causes of failure for the indirect restorations (Figure 3
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From 1995 to 2004 Sjögren and colleagues published three successive reports on 66 Vitablocs Mark II inlays.2,15,21 The Kaplan-Meier method survival probability was 89.0 percent after 10 years. From 1991 to 2006, Reiss and Walther17,23,31 published a series of articles on 1,011 CEREC-generated restorations placed between June 1987 and September 1990 in 299 patients in one private practice that they monitored for up to 18 years. After five years, the Kaplan-Meier method survival probability was 95.0 percent, and, after seven years, it dropped to 91.6 percent. The Kaplan-Meier method survival probability was 90.0 percent at 10 years, and it declined to 84.9 percent at 16.7 years. They reported more favorable prognosis for inlays in premolars (90 percent) than in molars (80 percent). There was no significant difference between restorations in the maxillary arch compared with restorations in the mandibular arch. There also was no significant difference in survivability based on the number of tooth surfaces restored.
| CROWNS |
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Bindl and colleagues22 also compared Vitablocs Mark II crowns based on the tooth type and type of preparation design. They described a classic crown preparation as having at least a 3.0 mm preparation wall height, 6- to 8-degree taper to the converging walls and a 1.0- to 1.2-mm shoulder. A reduced crown preparation had less than a 3.0-mm preparation wall height. An endodontic crown preparation did not have a remaining clinical crown on the tooth and used the pulp chamber for retention. For premolars, they reported a Kaplan-Meier method survival probability of 97.0 percent for classic crowns, 92.9 percent for reduced crowns and 68.8 percent for endodontic crowns. For molars, they reported a Kaplan-Meier method survival probability of 94.6 percent for classic crowns, 92.1 percent for reduced crowns and 87.1 percent for endodontic crowns. There was a significant difference in the survival probability between the premolar classic crowns and premolar endodontic crowns. They attributed the success of reduced crown preparations compared with classic crown preparations to the adhesive luting technique used for the Vitablocs Mark II material. They concluded that classic and reduced crowns were fine for premolars and molars, but endodontic crowns were acceptable only for molars.
| CONCLUSIONS |
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The consistent reports of low failure rates and restoration fractures document the clinical durability of CEREC-generated restorations. Similar to other ceramic restorations, ceramic fracture and tooth fracture are the two primary modes of failure for CEREC-generated restorations.
Clinically acceptable color matching of natural tooth color is possible by polishing the monochromatic blocks. Generally rated as good initial match, the degree of color mismatch tends to increase over time owing to the shift in color and translucency of the tooth, not of the restoration. To ensure optimum shade match, especially for anterior restorations, a more predictable result occurs with custom stain and glazing of the milled restoration.
Margin adaptation initially is good for CEREC-generated restorations, with an increase in margin discontinuity owing to wear of the resin-based composite luting agent. The degree of margin wear has been well-documented; however, little margin discoloration or secondary caries has been reported. This would indicate that the margin wear is a surface phenomenon and is not accompanied by a breakdown in the adhesive bond to the tooth, leading to failure of the restoration.
The survival probability of CEREC-generated restorations has been reported to be approximately 97 percent for five years and 90 percent for 10 years. The low rate of restoration fracture and long-term clinical survivability document the effectiveness of the CEREC system as a dependable, esthetic restorative option for patients.
| FOOTNOTES |
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