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Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of occlusal veneer porcelain
thickness on the load at fracture of Procera AllCeram crowns. Materials and Methods:
Fifty resin dies were manufactured to incorporate the features of an all-ceramic crown
preparation on a premolar tooth. Fifty corresponding crowns were constructed and
divided into five groups. Groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 were crowns with 0.6-mm-thick Procera
cores and 0.4-mm-thick axial veneer porcelain and occlusal veneer porcelain thicknesses
of 0.0 mm, 0.4 mm, 0.9 mm, and 1.4 mm, respectively. Group 5 specimens consisted of
0.6-mm-thick In-Ceram cores with 0.4 mm of axial porcelain and 0.4 mm of occlusal
porcelain. The crowns were cemented onto their respective dies with a resin luting agent.
Specimens were stored in distilled water at 37°C for 24 hours prior to placing them in a
universal testing machine and applying a controlled compressive load at a cross-head
speed of 0.1 mm/min until fracture occurred. Results: The mean loads at fracture were
419 N (group 1), 702 N (group 2), 1,142 N (group 3), 1,297 N (group 4), and 732 N
(group 5). Statistical analysis revealed significant differences (P < .05) in the load at
fracture between the groups, except for between groups 2 and 5. Conclusion: Increasing
the thickness of the occlusal veneer porcelain increased the load at fracture for Procera
AllCeram crowns. There was no significant difference in load at fracture between the
Procera and In-Ceram crowns. Int J Prosthodont 2003;16:54–58.
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