Abstract:

Background. Restoration of extensive destruction of the clinical crown of vital teeth in treating dental caries is a difficult and responsible task. In the absence of one or more cusps, it is preferred to make Onlays instead of full crowns.
Aim. This study compares working time for impressions, adaptation, and cementation of Onlays by different materials and methods and their clinical durability after five years.
Material and methods. On 71 vital molars and premolars were made Onlays. Group (1) 36 composite Onlays of Signum ceramics were fabricated by standard methods, and Group (2) 35 Onlays of Cerasmart were manufactured by digital methods. The control visits were after six months, twenty-four months, and sixty months. The criteria for the direct evaluation of the adhesive technique was USPHS.
Results. The results show that the time required to produce digital Onlays is significantly shorter than conventional ones. The most significant change is reported in the 5th year of the survey. The conventional Onlays from Signum ceramics show statistically significantly worse scores on parameters: marginal adaptation, anatomical form, proximal contact, surface texture, and loss of restoration parts.
Conclusions. This study’s results prove that conventional laboratory composites should be limited to restoring significant destruction of vital teeth in treating dental caries with onlay. More suitable are composite blocks of Cerasmart. The current study confirmed that the clinical time for digital impression, adjustment, and cementation is shortened using digital manufacturing methods of onlay.

Keywords: indirect composite restorations; severely damaged vital teeth; CAD/CAM; onlay; clinical investigation