Evaluation of different materials and abutment teeth in the restoration of maxillary lateral incisor deficiency: a combined finite element and in-vitro study
摘要
This experimental and computational study aimed to evaluate the fracture strength of resin bonded fixed dental prosthesis (RBFPs) made from lithium disilicate (LD), metal-ceramic (MC), zirconia (ZC), nano-ceramic hybrid (NH), and ceramic filled resin hybrid (RH) materials using central incisor or canine abutment teeth for replacing missing maxillary lateral incisors. Stress distribution under different load directions was also analyzed using finite element analysis (FEA). A total of 70 restorations (n = 7 per material) were produced using casting, 3D printing, and milling. Fracture testing was performed at 0.5 mm/min, and fracture strength (MPa) was calculated by dividing load (N) by fracture surface area (mm²). Data were analyzed with non-parametric tests (Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal–Wallis χ²), at p = 0.05. In parallel, finite element models of the maxillary arch were created in ANSYS, with central incisor and canine abutments loaded vertically at 0°, 30°, and 45° angles (100 N). von Mises stress and total displacement were analyzed. MC and LD showed higher fracture strength with central abutments, while MC, ZC, and LD were stronger with canine abutments (p < 0.05). FEA showed stress concentration mainly in the connector regions of all materials. The lowest stress values and displacement occurred in MC and ZC restorations, while resin showed the highest deformation. LD, MC, and ZC materials demonstrated superior biomechanical performance in both mechanical testing and FEA.