A comparative evaluation of vertical marginal fit of provisional crowns fabricated by computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing technique and direct (intraoral technique) and flexural strength of the materials: An study.

BACKGROUND

With the advent of new provisional crown materials, it has become imperative to evaluate their marginal fit and strength to select the ideal provisional crown material.

AIM

The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the vertical marginal fit and flexural strength of provisional crowns prepared using computer-aided design-computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) temporary material versus those fabricated using bis-acrylic composite-based autopolymerizing resin material.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Eighty samples were divided into two equal Groups (I and II). Group I consisted of forty samples that were evaluated for flexural strength and Group II consisted of forty samples that were evaluated for their vertical marginal fit. Group I was subdivided as Group IA, i.e., bis-acrylic composite-based autopolymerizing resin material (Protemp™ 4) blocks and Group IB, i.e., CAD/CAM provisional material blocks. Similarly, Group II was subdivided as Group IIA, i.e., bis-acrylic composite-based autopolymerizing resin material (Protemp™ 4) crowns and Group IIB, i.e., CAD/CAM provisional material crowns. Marginal adaptation was evaluated using stereomicroscope and image analyzing software to measure the amount of marginal gap. For flexural strength, all specimens were subjected to a standard compression load in the universal testing machine until fracture occurred. Data were analyzed using Student's -test ( = 0.001).

RESULTS

CAD/CAM provisional crowns showed better marginal adaptation (34.34 μm) as compared to bis-acrylic composite-based autopolymerizing resin material (Protemp™ 4) crowns (63.42 μm) ( < 0.001). The flexural strength of CAD/CAM blocks (94.06 megapascals [MPa]) was not statistically different from bis-acrylic composite-based autopolymerizing resin material (Protemp™ 4) blocks (101.41 MPa) ( > 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Protemp™ 4 and CAD/CAM provisional materials have comparable flexural strength. However, the marginal fit of temporary crowns fabricated by CAD/CAM was found to be superior to the ones fabricated using bis-acrylic composite-based autopolymerizing resin material (Protemp™ 4).