Purpose: The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the influence of the framework design on the fracture strength of all-ceramic resin-bonded fixed partial dentures (RBFPD) in the mandibular incisor region.
Materials and methods: Twenty-four aluminum oxide ceramic frameworks were copy milled with the Celay system, glass infiltrated, and veneered with feldspathic porcelain to replace a mandibular incisor. Forty-eight extracted human incisors were used as abutments by embedding them in a polyester resin. The master casts were fabricated according to a typical clinical case. The sandblasted restorations were bonded to the acid-etched abutment teeth with a composite resin. Twelve RBFPDs had a conventional two-retainer design, and 12 had a cantilevered single-retainer design. Subgroups of eight specimens were subjected to a quasistatic load in the direction of the long axis of the abutment teeth in a universal testing machine. Additional subgroups of four specimens were subjected under 0 degrees to dynamic loading of 25 N in a dual-axis chewing simulator.
Results: The mean fracture strengths under quasistatic loading were 313 N (SD 42) for the two-retainer design and 291 N (SD 100) for the single-retainer design. The mean cycles sustained by specimens subjected to dynamic loading at 25 N were 50,081 (SD 42,705) for the two-retainer design and 297,099 (SD 508,439) for the single-retainer design. There was no statistically significant influence of the framework design on the fracture strength of the restorations under quasistatic or dynamic loading.
Conclusion: The clinical application of cantilevered all-ceramic RBFPDs in the mandible may be an alternative to all-ceramic RBFPDs with two retainers.