Outcomes of surveyed monolithic CAD/CAM zirconia crowns for removable partial denture abutments: A 7-year clinical study.

PURPOSE: This retrospective clinical study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of surveyed monolithic computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) zirconia crowns for abutment teeth in removable partial dentures (RPDs).

METHODS

Patients who received monolithic surveyed zirconia crowns were clinically examined. The crowns were examined according to the modified United States Public Health Service criteria, and Kaplan-Meier survival was determined. The effect of different variables on the survival and success rates was assessed using Cox regression analysis (α = 0.05).

RESULTS

A total of 297 crowns of 275 patients were evaluated over a mean period of 7 years. The cumulative survival and success rates were 95.6% and 91.2%, respectively. Complications were in the form of secondary caries (n=12), minor chipping (n=9), and debonding (n=5). A higher number of failures was observed in the mandibular molars (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Surveyed monolithic zirconia crowns demonstrated high survival after 7 years of service. Monolithic zirconia is an excellent alternative to metal ceramic crowns for RPD abutments.