Impact of different yttrium oxide concentrations and sintering protocols on the flexural strength and optical properties of monolithic zirconia

Abstract

This study investigates the mechanical and optical properties of monolithic zirconia used in dentistry, focusing on how different concentrations of yttrium oxide and varied sintering times affect the material. A critical trade-off in ceramics has been reported in the literature, in which increased crystalline content (like in zirconia) leads to higher mechanical strength but lower aesthetic translucency. However, detailed information on this trade-off process for different types of zirconia is lacking. A total of seven types of zirconia varying in yttria content (3 mol% to 5 mol%) were tested across four sintering protocols available in a laboratory zirconia sintering device: Slow (12 h), Standard (8 h), Fast (3.5 h), and Ultrafast (1.15 h). The primary findings indicate that while a higher yttria concentration correlates with lower flexural strength and high translucency, the sintering time generally did not compromise mechanical strength or color variation across most samples. Nevertheless, the Fast and Ultrafast protocols did significantly reduce the translucency of zirconia with a high concentration of yttrium oxide.