ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This in vitro study aimed to create a graded structured dental crown using 3D printing technology and investigate the fracture resistance and the adaptation of this new design. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A dental crown with a uniform thickness of 1.5 mm was designed, and the exported stereolithography file (STL) was used to manufacture 30 crowns in three groups (n = 10), solid (SC), bilayer (BL), and multilayer (ML) crowns using 3D jet printing technology. Marginal and internal gaps were measured using the silicone replica technique. Crowns were then luted to a resin die using a temporary luting agent and the fracture resistance was measured using a universal testing machine. One-way ANOVA and Tukey post hoc tests were used to compare the fracture resistance and the adaptation of crowns at a significance level of 0.05. RESULTS: Mean marginal and internal gap of the ML group were 80 and 82 mm, respectively; which were significantly (p < 0.05) smaller than BL (203 and 183 mm) and SC (318 and 221 mm) groups. The SC group showed the highest mean load at fracture (2330 N) which was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than the BL (1716 N) and ML (1516 N) groups. CONCLUSION: 3D jet printing technology provides an opportunity to manufacture crowns in a graded structure with various mechanical properties. This study provided an example of graded structured crowns and presented their fracture resistance. SC group had the highest fracture resistance; however, ML had the best marginal and internal adaptation.