Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the stress distribution of hollow and solid design zirconia dowels.
Materials and methods: Finite element analysis (FEA) was used to investigate the influence of different dowel designs on the stress distribution of zirconia dowels. The coronal diameter of the dowel was 2.2 mm, the apical diameter was 1.8 mm, and the length was 15 mm. The diameter of the hollow space was 1.2 mm. Occlusal forces (both parallel and oblique) of 100 N were applied from the wider edge of the dowels simulating loads acting on the incisor during clenching and incising. The results were expressed in terms of von Mises criteria.
Results: FEA revealed differences in stress distribution. During parallel load, the maximum tensile stress of the hollow design (89.40 MPa) was greater than the solid design (43.30 MPa). During oblique load, the maximum tensile stress of the hollow design (1437.90 MPa) was greater than the solid design (917.96 MPa). The maximum deformation was observed in the coronal part of the dowel in both designs under the two load directions.
Conclusions: FEA results showed that the hollow design zirconia dowels presented higher tensile stress.
Keywords: Zirconia; finite element analysis; hollow design.
© 2015 by the American College of Prosthodontists.