Measurement of select physical and mechanical properties of 3 machinable ceramic materials.
OBJECTIVE
To measure select physical and mechanical properties of 3 machinable ceramic materials (IPS Empress CAD, Ivoclar Vivadent; Vitablocs Mark II, Vident; Paradigm C, 3M ESPE).


METHODS
The physical and mechanical properties tested were hardness (using Vickers hardness), flexural strength and modulus (with 3-point bending), fracture toughness (with Vickers hardness indentation), and coefficient of thermal expansion (using a thermomechanical analyzer). For each of the materials, 25 specimens were fabricated to test each property, except for coefficient of thermal expansion, where n = 5. For each tested property, data were analyzed using 1-way analysis of variance and Tukey Studentized range test (significance level = .05), when required for post hoc testing.


RESULTS
Mean Vickers hardness ranged from 511.3 (SD 8.6) for Paradigm C to 569.3 (SD 10.2) for Vitablocs Mark II. Flexural strength was greatest for IPS Empress CAD at 137.51 (SD 23.34) MPa and least for Vitablocs Mark II at 94.08 (SD 14.21) MPa. Flexural modulus ranged from 8.65 (SD 2.24) GPa (Vitablocs Mark II) to 16.10 (SD 5.94) GPa (IPS Empress CAD). IPS Empress CAD had the highest fracture toughness at 2.18 (SD 0.30) MPa.m(1/2), while Vitablocs Mark II had the lowest at 1.37 (SD 0.22) MPa.m(1/2). Paradigm C exhibited the highest thermal expansion coefficient at 16.87 (SD 4.37) 3 10(-6)/degrees C, and Vitablocs Mark II had the lowest at 8.60 (SD 1.47) 3 10(-6)/degrees C.


CONCLUSIONS
The 3 ceramic materials significantly differed in all of the properties measured. Vitablocs Mark II was the hardest of the 3 materials, and IPS Empress CAD had the greatest flexure strength, flexural modulus, and fracture toughness.
Charlton
David G
DG
Naval Institute for Dental and Biomedical Research, Great Lakes, IL 60088, USA. david.charlton@med.navy.mil
Roberts
Howard W
HW
Tiba
Amer
A
D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D003776:Dental Porcelain; D003799:Dental Stress Analysis; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D006244:Hardness; D008422:Materials Testing; D018583:Pliability; D013816:Thermodynamics
D000538:Aluminum Silicates; C075815:IPS-Empress ceramic; C082340:Vita Mark II; D003776:Dental Porcelain