Evaluation of the Marginal Fit of Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) Zirconia Bridges Fabricated With Different Firing Cycles of Veneering Porcelain: An In Vitro Study

Introduction Zirconia provides adequate mechanical strength to be used as a framework for all ceramic prostheses. Such prostheses must be covered with suitable porcelain to obtain good aesthetic results. The aim To study the effect of the firing cycle numbers of veneering ceramics (one cycle, two cycles, and three cycles) on the marginal fit of computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) zirconia bridges. Materials and methods The sample consisted of 30 full ceramic zirconia bridges, designed by CAD/CAM on a metal bridge model that was designed for this purpose. The sample was divided into three groups (N = 10); group A underwent a single firing cycle, group B underwent two cycles, and group C underwent three cycles. The copper model of the bridge was prepared to be a three-unit bridge, and the impressions of the metal models were taken to make zirconia cores. After that, the veneering ceramic layer and the micro-marginal gap were measured (in microns) on both the buccal and lingual surfaces of each bridge in the sample using the replica technique. A one-way ANOVA test was used to detect statistically significant differences between the groups. Results There were no significant differences between the studied groups in binary comparison; however, the arithmetic mean values of the marginal gap in group C were greater than all the studied groups. Conclusion Within the limitations of the current work, we found that increasing the number of firing cycles of zirconia cores affects the marginal fit; thus, it is recommended to follow the two firing cycle protocol for better adaptation of the CAD/CAM zirconia bridges.