Studies About Degradation of Zirconia in Artificial Saliva

To study zirconia degradation, we used samples with 16.5 mm diameter and 3 mm thick, milled from IPS e.max Zir CAD disks and subjected to sintering. Samples were immersed in Fusayama Meyer artificial saliva, removed after one day, 3 days, 7 days, 14 days and 21 days and examined from the point of view of surface morphology and elemental composition with an electronic scanning microscope. By SEM examining of samples prior to immersion in artificial saliva we found that the material contained strictly the chemical elements specified by the manufacturer. SEM examination and mass evaluations performed after immersion in artificial saliva demonstrate that the material did not suffer degradation processes, the minimum differences in the measurements being within the analytical balance weighing range.