Evaluation of the effect of milling mode and margin definition on adaptation of chairside digitally designed and fabricated ceramic veneers.

Aim: The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of the milling mode and margin defining method on the marginal and internal adaptation of digitally designed and fabricated ceramic veneers.

Materials and methods: Forty extracted central incisors were prepared for ceramic veneers. The veneers were categorized into four groups (n = 10) based on the milling mode (fine or extra-fine) and design (automatic or manual defining of cervical and incisal margins). The veneers were cemented to the teeth using resin cement and then polished. After cementation, the teeth were embedded in clear polyester resin, then cut into three sections. Absolute marginal gap at the cervical margins (AMGC), marginal gap at the incisal (MGI) and cervical (MGC) margins, and internal gap (IG) at the axial wall were evaluated using a scanning electron microscope. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t tests were used (α = 0.05) for the statistical analysis.

Results: The margin defining method affected the adaptation of the internal and incisal margin; the automatic (software) margin defining method resulted in a smaller MGI (P = 0.038) and IG (P = 0.009) than the manual defining method.

Conclusion: The type of milling mode did not affect the marginal gap. The margin defining method affected the marginal gap at the incisal margin and the internal gaps. (Int J Comput Dent 2022;25(3):277-285; doi: 10.3290/j.ijcd.b2588153).