IPS e.max for All-Ceramic Restorations: Clinical Survival and Success Rates of Full-Coverage Crowns and Fixed Partial Dentures.

The IPS e.max system by Ivoclar Vivadent, offering a variety of products and indications, is widely used for all-ceramic restorations. We analyzed the clinical track record of these products in daily clinical practice, associating their restorative survival rate with various parameters to define recommendations for long-term stability. A total of 1058 full-coverage crowns and fixed partial dentures (FPDs) were evaluated retrospectively over up to 66.48 (37.05 ± 18.4) months. All were made of IPS e.max Press, IPS e.max CAD, IPS e.max Ceram or IPS e.max ZirPress and had been delivered by a private dental practice within three years. Uses not recommended by the manufacturer were also deliberately included. The five-year cumulative survival was 94.22% (i.e., 94.69% or 90.58% for glass-ceramic crowns or FDPs and 100% or 90.06% for zirconia-based crowns or FDPs). Significantly superior outcomes emerged for conventional vs. adhesive cementation and for vital vs. non-vital abutment teeth, but not for recommended vs. non-recommended uses. Caution is required in restoring non-vital teeth, but the spectrum of recommended uses should generally be reconsidered and expanded, given our finding of high survival and success rates for IPS e.max ceramics, even for uses not currently recommended by the manufacturer.

Analysis of shrinkage of different gutta-percha types using optical measurement methods.

The aim of this study was to compare the shrinkage of alpha- and beta-gutta-percha of the Multifill-system with commercial gutta-percha. Ten gutta-percha blocks of each of the three types were used. Speckle pattern shearing interferometry was used to prove that no trapped air and material defects were present in the specimens. The optical triangulation method was applied to assess shrinkage. The three gutta-percha types were examined after heating up to 90 degrees C and cooling down to 35 degrees C. Commercial gutta-percha showed less shrinkage (6.5%) than alpha- (7.2%) and beta-gutta-percha (7.3%; p=0.0051 for both comparisons; Wilcoxon's signed rank test). There was a significant difference between alpha- and beta-gutta-percha (p=0.0093; Wilcoxon's signed rank test). In the range of 45 degrees C to 40 degrees C, alpha- and beta-gutta-percha revealed the highest shrinkage (2.2%/5 degrees C and 2.1%/5 degrees C, respectively). Commercial gutta-percha showed the highest shrinkage (1.1%/5 degrees C) in the range of 55 degrees C to 40 degrees C. Overall, shrinkage of all types of gutta-percha was higher than could be assumed from former studies.