Measurement of proximal contact of single crowns to assess interproximal relief: A pilot study

Daniel S Kim; Le Na Lau; Jong-Woong Kim; In-Sung Luke Yeo

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20403

Measurement of proximal contact of single crowns to assess interproximal relief: A pilot study

Heliyon. 2023 Sep 22;9(10):e20403. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20403. eCollection 2023 Oct.

Authors

Daniel S Kim¹, Le Na Lau², Jong-Woong Kim², In-Sung Luke Yeo³

Affiliations

¹ Private Practice, Vancouver, WA, the United States.
² Department of Prosthodontics, Seoul National University School of Dentistry, Seoul, Korea.
³ Department of Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry and Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

Background: It is common for dental technicians to adjust the proximal surface of adjacent teeth on casts when fabricating single crowns. However, whether the accuracy of the proximal contact is affected if this step is eliminated is unclear.

Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of the proximal contact of single crowns for mandibular first molars fabricated from four different restorative materials, without adjustment of the proximal surface of the adjacent teeth by the laboratory/dental technician.

Methods: This study was in vitro; all the clinical procedures were conducted on a dentoform. The mandibular first molar tooth on the dentoform was prepared using diamond burs and a high speed handpiece. Twenty single crowns were fabricated, five for each group (monolithic zirconia, lithium disilicate, metal ceramic, and cast gold). No proximal surface adjacent to the definitive crowns was adjusted for tight contact in the dental laboratory. Both the qualitative analyses, using dental floss and shimstock, and the quantitative analyses, using a stereo microscope, were performed to evaluate the accuracy of the proximal contact of the restoration with the adjacent teeth. In the quantitative analysis, one-way analysis of variance was used to compare mean values at a significance level of 0.05.

Results: In quantitative analysis, the differences between the proximal contact tightness of the four groups was not statistically significant (P = 0.802 for mesial contacts, P = 0.354 for distal contacts). In qualitative analysis, in most crowns, dental floss passed through the contact with tight resistance and only one film of shimstock could be inserted between the adjacent teeth and the restoration. However, one specimen from the cast gold crown had open contact.

Conclusions: Even without proximal surface adjustment of the adjacent teeth during the crown fabrication process, adequate proximal contact tightness between the restoration and adjacent teeth could be achieved.

Keywords: CAD-CAM; Crowns; Interproximal relief; Prosthesis fitting; Proximal surface adjustment.