Fabrication of all-ceramic crowns by a new method based on improvements in the conformity drying method

Abstract

We devised a method of fabricating copings for all-ceramic crowns in a short time that does not require specific equipment or duplicate models, and evaluated its possible clinical application. We reduced the working time and improved the fit of the copings. However, we were unable to improve the strength of the copings. In this study, to improve the fit of the copings, we evaluated the effect on the fit of drying the slips with a dryer and with air drying, after sintering and after infiltration, during production of the copings. We found that the fit of the copings with air drying averaged 190μm while the fit with the dryer averaged 37μm after sintering. After infiltration, the fit of the copings with air drying averaged 298μm while the fit with a dryer averaged 212μm. Fit of the coping with the dryer, was better than the fit of the coping with air drying at the 1% significance level after sintering. The drying process after infiltration did not significantly affect the fit. Therefore the fit of the coping after sintering was improved by using a dryer to dry the slip. The fit of the copings was degraded by the infiltration.