Analysis of machining damage to CAD/CAM block materials characterized by changes in surface roughness, edge chipping, and flexural strength

Abstract

PURPOSE: To analyze surface roughness, the edge chipping of different CAD/CAM bur milled dental materials (bar and crown design of 1.0mm and 1.5mm thickness), correlate the effect of machining damage on the material strength, compare the flexural strength of bur milled versus sectioned CAD/CAM blocks and evaluate the tool wear after milling. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Five dental CAD/CAM materials were used: Lithium disilicate glass-ceramic (IPS e.max CAD), Leucite-reinforced glass-ceramic (IPS Empress CAD), Feldspathic porcelain (Vitablocs Mark II), Feldspar ceramic-polymer infiltrated (Enamic), and composite resin (Lava Ultimate). Ten rectangular bars with dimensions of 4 mm × 2 mm × 14 mm were milled using a new set of burs for each material. Then, ten crowns of each material with thicknesses of 1.0 mm and 1.5 mm were milled after scanning a standard aluminum die with corresponding marginal thickness. The bars surface roughness was measured. Then, three specimens were selected for the edge chipping analysis using (SEM). Thereafter, 3-point bend test was used to test the flexural strength of bur milled and saw cut bars with the same dimensions. For the crowns, load to failure test was used. One-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD post hoc tests to determine the difference between the groups using JMP13.0 with α=0.05. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The surface roughness and edge chipping was significantly affected by the material composition. Comparison of the flexural strength of bur milled to sectioned bars, IPS e.max CAD and IPS Empress CAD show statistically significant less flexural strength (p<0.001). A strong correlation was found between the decrease in flexural strength and the chipping length on the central tensile side of the bur milled materials (R2=0.62, p=0.01). Crown thickness significantly affects the edge chipping as 1.5 mm crown thickness has more edge chipping than 1.0 mm crowns. However, no correlation is found between the load to failure test for the crown design and the edge chipping for 1.5mm and 1.0 mm thickness crowns. Tool wear is significantly affected by the material type.