COSMOS molds University of Florida's College of Dental Restoration Designs

Company University of Florida College of Dentistry Industry Medical Location U.S.A. Product Used COSMOSM™ Type of Analysis Linear Static, Thermal More Details

The Challenge

Unlike strong metallic crowns, ceramic crowns have the major drawback of a 35% failure rate in the molar regions during the first three years after installation. The brittle nature of dental ceramics, the large magnitude of biting forces and improper crown designs can usually be blamed for failures.

Researchers at the University of Florida's College of Dentistry used finite element analysis to determine the primary controllable factors that contribute to the failure of dental ceramic restorations.

The Solution
Dr. Barry Hojjatie decided to used COSMOSM on a number of platforms to investigate restoration failures. Working on the assumption that the main problem lay in weak ceramic and insufficient bonding cement, he created several FEA models of a tooth, the cement bonding, a flaw commonly present in dental ceramics and a void representing insufficient application of bonding material.

Linear static and thermal analyses confirmed that the combination of ceramic thickness and overly elastic cement was behind the high failure rate. When Dr. Hojjatie changed to glass ceramic materials and resin cement, the percentage of crown failures dropped significantly.