Survival of ceramic veneers made of different materials after a minimum follow-up period of five years: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review was to compare the survival and complication rates of ceramic veneers produced with different techniques and materials after a minimum follow-up time of 5 years.

Materials and methods: A literature search was conducted, using electronic databases, relevant references, citations and journal researching, for clinical studies reporting on the survival of ceramic veneers fabricated with different techniques and materials with a mean followup time of at least 5 years. The search period spanned from January 1980 up to October 2010. Event rates were calculated for the following complications associated with ceramic veneers: fracture, debonding, marginal discoloration, marginal integrity, and caries. Summary estimates, and 5-year event rates were reported. Comparison between subgroups of different materials, as well as statistical significance, was calculated using a mixed effects model.

Results: Nine studies were selected for final analysis over an initial yield of 409 titles. No study directly compared the incidence of complications between ceramic veneers fabricated from different materials. Four of the included studies reported on the survival of ceramic veneers made out of feldspathic ceramics; four studies were on glass-ceramic veneers and one study included veneers fabricated from both materials. The mean observation time ranged between 5 and 10 years. Overall, the 5-year complication rates were low, with the exception of studies reporting on extended ceramic veneers. The most frequent complication reported was marginal discoloration (9% at 5 years), followed by marginal integrity (3.9-7.7% at 5 years). There was no statistically significant difference in the event rates between the subgroups of different materials (feldspathic vs. glass-ceramic).

Conclusion: The results of this systematic review showed that ceramic veneers fabricated from feldspathic or glass-ceramics have an adequate clinical survival for at least 5 years of clinical service, with very low complication rates.