Clinical performance of CEREC AC Bluecam conservative ceramic restorations after five years--A retrospective study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess the clinical performance of CAD/CAM partial coverage posterior restorations made by CEREC AC Bluecam system after 5 years.

METHODS: 159 ceramic partial coverage posterior restorations were placed in 109 patients in a private practice. The restorations were made using CEREC AC Bluecam with CEREC Blocs or Empress CAD blocks. The clinical performance of the restorations was evaluated with modified California Dental Association (CDA) guidelines, gingival and plaque indices, probing pocket depth, and bleeding on probing in a period of 5 years. Patients' satisfaction was assessed using visual analogue scale. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze survival probability of the restorations (α=0.05).

RESULTS: The restorations included 102CEREC Blocs and 57 Empress CAD. The survival rates of CEREC Blocs and Empress CAD blocks were 96.0% and 94.6%, respectively (P=0.67). A total of 7 (4.5%) failures were found. The failures were not significantly influenced by restoration size, type and position of teeth. The ceramic fracture was significantly more in nonvital teeth (P=0.04). The periodontal parameters were not significantly different between the restored and control teeth except plaque index. The mean score of patients' satisfaction was 94.4 ± 8.1.

CONCLUSIONS: Chair-side CEREC AC ceramic partial coverage posterior restorations were clinically successful restorations with mean survival rate of 95.5% after 5 years.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Conservative chair-side CAD/CAM ceramic restorations with less reduction of tooth structure can be a successful restorative method with acceptable survival rate and patient's satisfaction.