The Micromorphological Research of the Internal Structure of Chairside CAD/CAM Materials by the Method of Scanning Impulse Acoustic Microscopy (SIAM)

Aim: The aim of the present work was to compare the elastic properties and internal structure of 4 different CAD/CAM chairside materials, by the method of Scanning Impulse Acoustic Microscopy (SIAM). Methods: Four chairside CAD/CAM materials with different structures from hybrid ceramic (VITA Enamic, VITA Zahnfabrik), feldspatic ceramic (VITABlocs Mark II, VITA Zahnfabrik), leucite glass-ceramic (IPS Empress CAD, Ivoclar Vivadent) and PMMA (Telio CAD, Ivoclar Vivadent) were examined by Scanning Impulse Acoustic Microscope (SIAM). Results: The results of micromorphological research of CAD/CAM chairside materials using SIAM method showed differences between the internal structures of these materials. The internal structure of feldspatic and glass-ceramic samples revealed the presence of pores with different sizes, from 10 to 100 microns; the structure of polymer materials rendered some isolated defects, while in the structure of hybrid material, defects were not found. Conclusion: Based on the results obtained from the present study, in cases of chairside production of dental crowns, it would be advisable to give preference to the blocks of hybrid ceramics. Such ceramics devoid of quite large porosity, glazing for CAD/CAM crowns made from leucite glass-ceramic and feldspatic ceramic may be an option. For these purposes, commercially available special muffle furnace for clinical and laboratory individualization and glazing of ceramic prostheses were provided. Further studies are needed to confirm the evidence emerging from the present research.