INVESTIGATION OF MICROSCOPIC STRUCTURE, TRANSLUCENCY PARAMETERS, AND FRACTURE TOUGHNESS OF TWO PRESSABLE LITHIUM DISILICATE GLASS-CERAMIC MATERIALS.

Purpose: To investigate the microscopic structure and fracture toughness of two pressable glass-ceramics-GC Initial LiSi Press (LiSi) and IPS e.max Press (e.max)-with different levels of translucency.

Materials and methods: Two groups each of LiSi and e.max, with medium opacity and high translucency levels, were examined. The crystal morphology of acid-etched specimens was observed under a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Six specimens in each group were fabricated in a square shape (12 ' 12 ' 1.5 mm) to measure translucency parameters (TP) using a spectrophotometer. Ten bar-shaped specimens in each group with dimensions of 23 x 2 x 4 mm were used to determine the fracture toughness (KIc) by a surface crack in flexure (SCF) using a universal testing machine. One-way ANOVA and Scheffe post-hoc tests were used for statistical analysis.

Results: LiSi showed fine dense crystals 1 to 1.5 μm in size, while e.max showed long rod-shaped crystals 3 to 4 μm in size. The TP values of all specimens coincided with their translucency levels. There was no statistical difference in the KIc between different translucency for both ceramics (P < .05). However, the KIc of e.max was significantly higher than that of LiSi at both translucency levels. As a result of larger and longer crystals, e.max provided better crack deviation mechanism to resist the fracture.

Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, the translucency levels of both lithium disilicate ceramics did not affect the fracture toughness of the materials. The fracture toughness of e.max was statistically higher than LiSi.