Introduction: All-ceramic systems are generally considered expensive for most dental laboratories in developping countries. Barbotine of In-Ceram Alumina System could be stored at -20°C with the purpose of minimizing its production costs. However, limited information exists on the possible effects that this practice has on the structural behavior of dental restorations.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare the structural reliability and microstructure of discs obtained by two different ways of storing barbotine using aluminium oxide infiltrated with glass.

Methods: 50 alumina discs infiltrated with glass were produced and divided in two groups according to storage time of barbotine (0 and 30 days). The discs were polished and evaluated by biaxial flexural strength tests. Statistical studies included Weibull distribution and extreme values analysis. SEM and XRD were used to identify the crystalline phases of both groups. Chemical analysis was conducted by EDS and FTIR spectroscopy to detect differences between both groups.

Results: The characteristic strength obtained for the 0 days group was 20% higher than that of 30 days group. In the analysis of Weibull module no relevant differences were noticed between both groups. Differences in glass infiltration were found by SEM, while no differences were found by EDS and FTIR.

Conclusions: It has been shown that, after 30 days storage at -20°C, barbotine showed significantly lower mechanical strength with respect to the same material prior to storage, inducing reduced mechanical strength effects on glass infiltrated alumina discs.

Acknowledgement: The work was carried out under a PhD grant from Alban Program. European Union (Scholarship E05D050652CO), which is acknowledged

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