Testing of Zirconia FPD Frameworks for Fixed Prostheses: Model Design and Evaluation of Fracture Load.

In our previous test model, the abutment teeth and the model base were printed with resin and bonded with a polyether material. Some abutment teeth fractured during the mechanical load test. Therefore, the aim was to develop and to evaluate a new model under mechanical loading until fracture with zirconia FPD frameworks. Up to a fracture load of 1636 N, neither the artificial abutment teeth nor the base model fractured. Furthermore, the artificial abutment teeth did not detach from the base model. Therefore, the model should be suitable for mechanical testing of most ceramic-based framework materials for three-unit FPDs.