Dimensional accuracy and clinical adaptation of monolithic zirconia crowns fabricated with the nanoparticle jetting technique

Statement of problem

The nanoparticle jetting (NPJ) technique is a recently developed additive manufacturing method that may have useful dental applications. The manufacturing accuracy and clinical adaptation of zirconia monolithic crowns fabricated with NPJ are unknown.

Purpose

The purpose of this in vitro study was to compare the dimensional accuracy and clinical adaptation of zirconia crowns fabricated with NPJ and those fabricated with subtractive manufacturing (SM) and digital light processing (DLP).

Material and methods

Five standardized typodont right mandibular first molars were prepared for ceramic complete crowns, and 30 zirconia monolithic crowns were fabricated using SM, DLP, and NPJ (n=10) with a completely digital workflow. The dimensional accuracy at the external, intaglio, and marginal areas was determined by superimposing the scanned data and computer-aided design data of the crowns (n=10). Occlusal, axial, and marginal adaptations were evaluated by using a nondestructive silicone replica and dual scanning method. The 3-dimensional discrepancy was evaluated to determine clinical adaptation. Differences among test groups were analyzed by using a MANOVA and the post hoc least significant difference test for normally distributed data or the Kruskal-Wallis test with Bonferroni correction for nonnormally distributed data (α=.05).

Results

Significant differences were found in the dimensional accuracy and clinical adaptation among the groups (P<.001). The NPJ group had a lower overall root mean square (RMS) value for dimensional accuracy (22.9 ±1.4 μm) than the SM (27.3 ±5.0 μm) and DLP (36.4 ±5.9 μm) groups (P<.001). The NPJ group had a lower external RMS value (23.0 ±3.0 μm) than the SM group (28.9 ±5.4 μm) (P<.001) and equivalent marginal and intaglio RMS values than the SM group. The DLP group had larger external (33.3 ±4.3 μm), intaglio (36.1 ±10.7 μm), and marginal (79.4 ±12.9 μm) deviations than the NPJ and SM groups (P<.001). With regard to clinical adaptation, the marginal discrepancy was smaller in the NPJ group (63.9 ±27.3 μm) than in the SM group (70.8 ±27.5 μm) (P<.001). No significant differences were found between the SM and NPJ groups in terms of the occlusal (87.2 ±25.5 and 80.5 ±24.2 μm, respectively) and axial (39.1 ±19.7 and 38.4 ±13.7 μm, respectively) discrepancies. The DLP group had larger occlusal (239.0 ±60.1 μm), axial (84.9 ±29.1 μm), and marginal (140.4 ±84.3 μm) discrepancies than the NPJ and SM groups (P<.001).

Conclusions

Monolithic zirconia crowns fabricated using NPJ have higher dimensional accuracy and clinical adaptation than those fabricated using SM or DLP.