Effect of veneering method on the fracture and bond strength of bilayered zirconia restorations

This study evaluated the fracture strength and microtensile bond strength of a new computer-aided design (CAD) veneering method for zirconia frameworks. A new CAD/computer-assisted manufacture system was used to fabricate a resin replica of the esthetic ceramic required to veneer a zirconia framework. The replicas were processed using press-on technology. Identical manually layered zirconia specimens served as a control (n = 18; alpha = .05). Statistical analysis revealed that the fracture strength (442.8 +/- 25 N) and microtensile bond strength (26.6 +/- 2 MPa) of CAD-veneered zirconia were significantly higher (P < .001) compared to the control (346 +/- 24 N and 15.1 +/- 1 MPa, respectively). CAD veneering is a reliable method for veneering zirconia frameworks.