Partial glass-ceramic posterior restorations with margins beyond or above the cemento-enamel junction: An observational retrospective clinical study

Purpose: This observational retrospective clinical study aimed to investigate the survival and success rates of partial indirect lithium disilicate restorations with margins extending above or beyond the cementoenamel junction (CEJ).

Methods: The study included patients who underwent partial indirect lithium disilicate restorations with immediate dentin sealing (IDS) between January 2008 and October 2018. All the restorations were placed in a single general dental practice following a standardized protocol. The impact of various predictive variables on the survival rates was assessed. Moreover, modified United States Public Health Service (USPHS) criteria were used to evaluate the survival quality.

Results: Totally 1146 partial indirect lithium disilicate restorations in 260 patients were evaluated over an average period of 7.5 years. The cumulative survival and success rates were 97.3% and 95.3%, respectively. Margins extending beyond the cemento-enamel junction did not increase the risk of success or survival failure (P > 0.05). Patients with a high risk of caries, male sex, or non-vital teeth had a significantly higher risk of restoration failure (P < 0.05). Restorations with longer clinical service times exhibited marginally lower clinical quality (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: Partial indirect glass-ceramic restorations demonstrated survival and success rates of 97.3% and 95.3%, respectively, over an extended period. However, a higher risk of restoration failure existed in patients with a high caries risk for (pre)molars that had undergone endodontic treatment and in males. In terms of the risk of success or survival failure, comparable results were obtained for the positions of the restoration margin in relation to the cemento-enamel junction.