The objective of this research was to quantify the effect of surface degradation and abrasion separately and in combination on the flexural strength of lithia disilicate ceramics. Lithia disilicate disks were fabricated using the lost wax technique and pressing in vacuum. The eight groups in this pilot experiment were (i) reference, hydrated in distilled water for 24 h prior to fracture; (ii) reference, non-hydrated group; (iii) 28-day pH cycling group; (iv) 125K chewing cycle group; (v) combined pH cycling + 125K chewing cycle; (vi) constant pH 2 solution for 28 days; (vii) constant pH 7 solution for 28 days; and (viii) constant pH 10 solution for 28 days. pH cycling is a method that alternates between pH 2, 7 and 10 over 28 days. A total of 15 disks were used for each group. All the groups were tested using the biaxial piston and a three-ball flexural strength test to obtain their biaxial flexural strength. pH 2 constant immersion demonstrated the highest fracture strength and was significantly greater than all other groups (p < 0.0001). Chewing and pH cycling + chewing groups exhibited the lowest fracture strengths and were significantly lower than all other groups (p < 0.0001). The damage observed from the chewing simulator does not represent apparent clinical fractures.
Keywords: ceramic corrosion; fracture strength; surface degradation.