INFLUENCE OF INVESTMENT/CERAMIC INTERACTION LAYER ON INTERFACIAL TOUGHNESS OF BODY CERAMIC BONDED TO LITHIA-BASED CERAMIC

Statement of problem. Interfacial toughness is important in the mechanical property of layered dental ceramics such as core-veneered all-ceramic dental materials. The interfaces between adjacent layers must be strongly bonded to prevent delamination, however the weak interface makes delamination by the growth of lateral cracks along the interface. Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the reaction layer on the interfacial fracture toughness of the core/veneer structure according to the five different divesting. Materials and methods. Thirty five heat-pressed Lithia-based ceramic core bars (IPS Empress 2), $20mm{\times}3mm{\times}2mm$ were made following the five different surface divesting conditions. G1 was no dissolution or sandblasting of the interaction layer. G2 and G3 were dissolved layer with 0.2% HF in an ultrasonic unit for 15min and 30 min. G4 and G5 were dissolved layer for 15min and 30min and then same sandblasting for 60s each. We veneered bilayered ceramic bars, $20mm{\times}2.8mm{\times}3.8mm$(2mm core and 1.8mm veneer), according to the manufacturer's instruction. After polishing the specimens through $1{\mu}m$ alumina, we induced five cracks for each of five groups within the veneer close to interface under an applied indenter load of 19.6N with a Vickers microhardness indenter. Results. The results from Vickers hardness were the percentage of delamination G1:55%, G2:50%, G3:35%, G4:0% and G5:0%. SEM examination showed that the mean thickness of the reaction layer were G1 $93.5{\pm}20.6{\mu}m$, G2 $69.9{\pm}14.3{\mu}m$, G3 $59.2{\pm}20.2{\mu}m$, G4 $0.61{\pm}1.44{\mu}m$ G5 $0{\pm}0{\mu}m$. The mean interfacial delamination crack lengths were G1 $131{\pm}54.5{\mu}m$, G2 $85.2{\pm}51.3{\mu}m$, and G3 $94.9{\pm}81.8{\mu}m$. One-way ANOVA showed that there was no statistically significant difference in interfacial crack length among G1, G2 and G3(p> 0.05). Conclusion. The investment reaction layer played important role at the interfacial toughness of body ceramic bonded to Lithia-based ceramic.