COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF FRACTURE RESISTANCE OF MAXILLARY PREMOLARS RESTORED WITH ZIRCONOMER IN MOD CAVITIES: AN IN VITRO STUDY

Abstract

Background: To test the fracture resistance of maxillary premolars with MOD cavities
restored with a new Zirconia reinforced Glass Ionomer Cement (Zirconomer) and to compare
it with other conventional posterior restorative materials like GIC and Amalgam.
Materials and Method: Freshly extracted forty intact, non-carious human maxillary
premolars were collected and stored in distilled water. The teeth were randomly divided into
2 Control groups with 5 teeth each (n=5) and 3 experimental groups with 10 teeth each
(n=10). Group I: No cavities were prepared (Positive control). Group II : Class II MOD
cavities were prepared but not restored (Negative control). Group III: Cavities were restored
with Amalgam (DPI). Group IV: Cavities were restored with Glass Ionomer Cement (GC).
Group V: Cavities were restored with Zirconomer (Shofu). Fracture resistance was tested
with a steel ball of 4mm diameter with a cross head speed of 1mm/min in Universal Testing
Machine. Statistical analysis was done using One-Way Analysis Of Variance (ANOVA) and
Tukey test
Results:Teeth restored with Zirconomer were most resistant to fracture load followed by
Amalgam (p>0.05) and Glass Ionomer Cement(p>0.05),suggesting zicronomer can be used
as a potential substitute for amalgam in posterioir teeth.