Three-point bending strength of ceramics fused to cast titanium.

Titanium requires special ceramic systems for veneering. This study compared the three-point bending strength of three commercially available titanium ceramic systems with a NiCr-alloy with conventional ceramics. Three-point bend specimens 25 x 5 x 0.5 mm were cast from polyethylene patterns. After alpha-case removal, they were veneered with 8 x 5 x 1 mm of ceramics at the center of the bar. Specimens were tested in a universal testing machine without ageing, after thermocycling, and after 90 d storage in an electrolyte solution. Titanium-ceramic systems were found to have a significantly lower bond strength in comparison to the NiCr-ceramic system. One of the titanium ceramic systems had a significantly lower bond strength in comparison to the other systems investigated. It could be concluded that bonding between titanium and ceramics is obtainable; however, the achievable bonds strengths did not match the NiCr-ceramic control.