Validating laboratory simulation with resin-based materials for temporary fixed denture prostheses - Results from clinical and laboratory trials

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to relate an artificial aging protocol for the analysis of dental materials to their clinical performance. 20 fixed interim restorations (crowns and fixed denture prostheses (FDPs)) fabricated from two commercially available resin-based composites (RBCs) and a previous clinical trial served as templates for the fabrication of duplicate restorations. Duplicates were subjected to artificial aging using thermal cycling and mechanical loading. Subsequent to wear analysis, templates and duplicates were loaded to fracture and were examined using thermal gravimetric analysis (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). For both RBCs, a relevant uptake of water was identified, which was more pronounced in the duplicates. Tribological analyses indicated relevant signs of wear in both templates and duplicates. While qualitative analyses indicated macroscopically similar wear traces in templates and duplicates, data showed that wear of FDPs was underrated in the laboratory analyses. The results of the current study suggest that chewing simulation allows a proper estimation of aging processes in materials for the fabrication of fixed interim restorations. However, simulation parameters should be continuously improved using data derived from clinical settings to enhance the quality of the simulation protocols.