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PURPOSE: To evaluate the fracture resistance of a newer lithium disilicate abutment material. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A premolar-shaped implant crown was designed using CAD/CAM software, and four groups of implant and crown combinations were milled: (1) lithium-disilicate hybrid-abutment crown; (2) "screwmentable" lithium-disilicate hybrid abutment/lithium-disilicate crown with screw channel; (3) lithium-disilicate hybrid abutment/lithium-disilicate crown; and (4) zirconia hybrid abutment/lithium-disilicate crown (control). The specimens were cemented to a titanium-base implant system, subjected to thermocycling and cyclic loading, and fractured in a material testing device. RESULTS: The lithium-disilicate hybrid-abutment crown had significantly greater fracture load than all the other groups, which were not significantly different from each other. CONCLUSIONS: Based on fracture load, the new lithium-disilicate hybrid-abutment material may serve as a viable alternative to the use of zirconia as a hybrid-abutment material.
Roberts et al. (Thu,) studied this question.