Objectives: To evaluate whether post-milling firing and material type affect the fabrication trueness and internal fit of lithium disilicate crowns.
Methods: A prefabricated cobalt chromium abutment was digitized to design a mandibular right first molar crown. This design file was used to fabricate crowns from different lithium disilicate ceramics (nano-lithium disilicate (AM), fully crystallized lithium disilicate (IN), advanced lithium disilicate (TS), and lithium disilicate (EX)) (n = 10). Crowns, the abutment, and the crowns when seated on the abutment were digitized by using an intraoral scanner. Fabrication trueness was assessed by using the root mean square method, while the internal fit was evaluated according to the triple scan method. These processes were repeated after the post-milling firing of AM, TS, and EX. Paired samples t-tests were used to analyze the effect of post-milling firing within AM, TS, and EX, while all materials were compared with 1-way analysis of variance and Tukey HSD tests (α = 0.05).
Results: Post-milling firing reduced the surface deviations and internal gap of AM and EX (P ≤ 0.014). AM mostly had higher deviations and internal gaps than other materials (P ≤ 0.030).
Conclusions: Post-milling firing increased the trueness and internal fit of tested nano-lithium disilicate and lithium disilicate ceramics. Nano-lithium disilicate mostly had lower trueness and higher internal gap; however, the maximum meaningful differences among tested materials were small. Therefore, the adjustment duration and clinical fit of tested crowns may be similar.
Clinical significance: Tested lithium disilicate ceramics may be suitable alternatives to one another in terms of fabrication trueness and internal fit, considering the small differences in measured deviations and internal gaps.
Keywords: Crystallization; Fabrication trueness; Internal fit; Lithium disilicate; Matrix firing.
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