An in vitro comparison of vertical marginal gaps of CAD/CAM titanium and conventional cast restorations.
OBJECTIVE
To determine if there was a significant difference between the vertical marginal openings of cast restorations, computer-aided design, and computer-aided machining restorations.


METHODS
Ten working dies were created from a single master die and used to fabricate ten restorations in each of the following groups: computer-aided design/computer-assisted machining (CAD/CAM), WAX/CAM, and WAX/CAST. The CAD/CAM titanium restorations were fabricated using the scanning and crown design modules of the KaVo Everest system. The WAX/CAM titanium restorations were fabricated using the double scan technique with the KaVo Everest system. The WAX/CAST high noble copings were fabricated using the conventional lost wax casting technique. The restorations were seated on the master die, and high-resolution digital photographs were made of the marginal area on all four sides. The vertical marginal opening was then measured using a calibrated digital software program. One-way ANOVA and Tukey's post hoc tests were used to determine the presence of statistically significant differences.


RESULTS
The vertical margin openings were CAD/CAM: 79.43 +/- 25.46 microm; WAX/CAM: 73.12 +/- 24.15 microm; WAX/CAST: 23.91 +/- 9.80 microm. There was a statistically significant difference between the WAX/CAST group and the remaining groups.


CONCLUSIONS
There was no difference between the vertical marginal gaps of the CAD/CAM and WAX/CAM. The WAX/CAST technique resulted in smaller vertical marginal gaps than either CAD/CAM or WAX/CAM.
Tan
Philip L
PL
Department of Family Dentistry, University of Iowa College of Dentistry, Iowa City, IA, USA. ptanau@yahoo.com.au
Gratton
David G
DG
Diaz-Arnold
Ana M
AM
Holmes
David C
DC
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D003442:Crowns; D003722:Dental Alloys; D003735:Dental Casting Technique; D018772:Dental Marginal Adaptation; D017267:Dental Prosthesis Design / Q000379:methods*; D003799:Dental Stress Analysis; D008422:Materials Testing; D012828:Silicones; D014025:Titanium
D003722:Dental Alloys; C074415:Fit-Checker; D012828:Silicones; D014025:Titanium