RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

Effect of joint design and welding type on the exural

strength and weld penetration of Ti-6Al-4V alloy bars
Paulo Czar Simamoto Jnior, DDS, MSc, PhD,a Veridiana Resende Novais, DDS, MSc, PhD,b
Asbel Rodrigues Machado, DDS, MSc,c Carlos Jos Soares, DDS, MSc, PhD,d and
Lus Henrique Arajo Raposo, DDS, MSc, PhDe

INTRODUCTION
Since the initial applications of
titanium (Ti) in the early 1950s,
this metal has been used in nu-
merous industrial processes.1-3
Titanium is attractive because
of its low specic weight, high
strength-to-weight ratio, and
good resistance to fatigue and
corrosion.1,2 In dentistry, tita-
nium was initially used to fabri-
cate dental implants because
of its biocompatibility, while
prosthetic implant-based in-
frastructures were initially made
of precious metals.3 However,
with the rising price of gold and
the occurrence of allergic reac-
tions to some nickel-chromium
and other base-metal alloys,
economically feasible alloys
with reduced risks to patients
were sought.4-6
Interest in titanium as a
dental restorative material has
increased, because this mate-
rial has adequate physical and
ABSTRACT
Statement of problem. Framework longevity is a key factor for the success of complete-arch
prostheses and commonly depends on the welding methods. However, no consensus has been
reached on the joint design and welding type for improving framework resistance.
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of different joint designs and welding
methods with tungsten inert gas (TIG) or laser to join titanium alloy bars (Ti-6Al-4V).
Material and methods. Seventy titanium alloy bar specimens were prepared (3.18 mm in diam-
eter 40.0 mm in length) and divided into 7 groups (n=10): the C-control group consisting of intact
specimens without joints and the remaining 6 groups consisting of specimens sectioned perpen-
dicular to the long-axis and rejoined using an I-, X30-, or X45-shaped joint design with TIG welding
(TI, TX30, and TX45) or laser welding (LI, LX30, and LX45). The specimens were tested with 3-point
bending. The fracture surfaces were rst evaluated with stereomicroscopy to measure the weld
penetration area and then analyzed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The data were
statistically analyzed with 2-way ANOVA and the Tukey post hoc test, 1-way ANOVA and the
Dunnett test, and the Pearson correlation test (a=.05).
Results. Specimens from the X30 and X45 groups showed higher exural strength (P<.05) and
welded area (P<.05) than specimens from the I groups, regardless of the welding type. TIG welded
groups showed signicantly higher exural strength than the laser groups (P<.05), regardless of the
joint design. TIG welding also resulted in higher welded areas than laser welding for the I-shaped
specimens. No signicant differences were found for the weld penetration area in the X45 group,
either for laser or TIG welding. SEM analysis showed more pores at the fracture surfaces of the laser
specimens. Fracture surfaces indicative of regions of increased ductility were detected for the TIG
specimens.
Conclusions. TIG welding resulted in higher exural strength for the joined titanium specimens
than laser welding. For both welding methods, X30- and X45-shaped joint designs resulted in
higher exural strength and welding penetration than the I-shaped joint design. (J Prosthet Dent
2015;-:---)

This study was supported by the National Counsel of Technological and Scientic Development (CNPq) and the Minas Gerais State Research Foundation (FAPEMIG).
a
Professor, Department of Occlusion, Fixed Prosthodontics and Dental Materials, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Uberlndia, MG, Brazil.
b
Professor, Department of Operative Dentistry and Dental Materials, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Uberlndia, MG, Brazil.
c
Graduate student, Department of Occlusion, Fixed Prosthodontics, and Dental Materials, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Uberlndia, MG, Brazil.
d
Professor, Department of Operative Dentistry and Dental Materials, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Uberlndia, MG, Brazil.
e
Professor, Department of Occlusion, Fixed Prosthodontics and Dental Materials, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Uberlndia, MG, Brazil.

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Clinical Implications
TIG is a viable option for welding titanium alloy
frameworks when high exural strength is required.
The X30- and X45- shaped joint designs are also
preferred under these circumstances.
mechanical properties that make it suitable for biomed-
ical applications,2 and titanium and its alloys have been
used to fabricate frameworks for xed and removable
dental prostheses.1,4,7,8 However, titanium is difcult to
join because of its high melting point and high reactivity,
particularly to oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon, at high
temperatures.9,10
The incorporation of small amounts of impurity
may affect the mechanical properties of titanium.11 With
the increased dental application of titanium alloys,
welding techniques previously available only to industry
were introduced to dentistry. Tungsten inert gas (TIG)
and laser welding methods are the most common
options for joining Ti prosthetic segments into frame-
works. The prevention of titanium contamination by at-
mosphere gases is provided by inert gas shielding,
usually argon.11-15
Laser welding has been improved over the last de-
cades.12,14,16,17 Laser equipment is well known to amplify
light by stimulating the emission of radiation. Yttrium-
aluminum-garnet (YAG) doped with neodymium (ND)
crystals is used to emit laser beams (Nd:YAG laser) to
weld dental alloys.12 Because laser energy can be
concentrated in a small area, minimal heating or oxida-
tion effects occur in the area surrounding the welded
spot.18 However, laser equipment is expensive.19
The recently introduced TIG welding process is more
affordable, making it suitable for dental application. TIG
welding involves an electric arc induced between the
refractory tungsten electrode and the work piece adjacent
to the joint gap under argon gas atmosphere shielding.20
Recent studies have shown promising results, similar or
even better than those obtained with laser welding;
however, more research is required to determine its po-
tential for dental applications.13,21
Although studies have demonstrated that the welding
of dental frameworks can correct dimensional errors,
some limitations should be considered, including the
formation of pores, cracks, and internal voids due to
incomplete welding penetration.19,22-27 These defects
can act as stress concentrators, which can lead to pre-
mature failures of the titanium infrastructures.27 The
welding penetration is the main factor affecting frame-
work strength, and different joint designs have been
proposed to improve its performance. These include
an X-shaped design with various angulations to enable
THE JOURNAL OF PROSTHETIC DENTISTRY
- Issue -
40 mm
3.18 mm
A
40 mm
3.18 mm
60 B
3.18 mm
40 mm
C
90
3.18 mm
40 mm
D
Figure 1. Geometry of specimens. A, Intact specimens (control group).
B, I-shaped joint design. C, X-shaped joint design with 30-degree
chamfer. D, X-shaped joint design with 45-degree chamfer.
higher penetration of the ller material and increase the
resistance of welded joints.17,28-30
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of
different joint designs and welding types on the exural
strength and weld penetration area of Ti-6Al-4V alloy
bars. Three null hypotheses were tested: (1) the X- and I-
shaped joints will result in similar exural strength and
welded areas; (2) the X- shaped joints with 30- and 45-
degree angles will result in similar exural strength and
welded areas; (3) TIG and laser welding methods will
result in similar exural strength and welded areas.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Seventy titanium alloy specimens (3.18 mm in diameter
40.0 mm in length) were prepared from prefabricated
bars (Grade 5 Ti-6Al-4V; Realum) and divided into 7
groups (n=10): the C-control group, consisting of intact
specimens without joint, and the remaining 6 groups,
consisting of specimens sectioned perpendicularly into
two 20-mm segments and rejoined using I-, X30-, or
X45-shaped joint designs with TIG welding (TI, TX30,
and TX45) or laser welding (LI, LX30, and LX45). Spec-
imens from the C group were kept intact (Fig. 1A).
Specimens from the I groups received no milling, and the
joint region remained with parallel extremities, forming a
0-degree angle (Fig. 1B). For the X30 and X45 groups, the
segments were milled at their extremities with a lathe
(PRN-320; IMOR), producing 1-mm depth X-shaped
chamfer with 30- and 45-degree angles between the bar
extremities (Fig. 1C, D).28,30
For standardization, the specimens were xed in a
holding matrix to ensure the 2 halves were properly
aligned and juxtaposed during welding procedures. TIG
welding was performed with specic dental equipment
Simamoto Jnior et al
- 2015
(NTY60C; Kernit) set to 60 A current for 0.12 second. The
electrode was placed perpendicular to the segment to be
welded at 0.5 mm distance, as recommended by the
manufacturer. For the I-shaped joints, 4 diametrically
opposed welding points were rst made, followed by the
application of additional welding points until complete
union of the segments was achieved. For the X-shaped
joints, 2 welding points were initially made connecting
the central part of the joint, followed by the application of
additional welding points (2 to 4) until the chamfer was
lled with 1-mm Ti-6Al-4V-based welding stick (Grade
5 Ti-6Al-4V; Realum). After every 2 welding shots, the
electrode was cleaned to ensure adequate performance.
The argon gas ow rate was set to 10 L/min and the ow
began 2 seconds before and ended 2 seconds after the
welding procedure to allow the cooling of specimens in
an inert atmosphere.
For the laser welding, the specimens were xed by
using the holding matrix and placed into the equipment
(LM500; Sisma Group) set to 0.9-kW current and 2.4-J
energy pulse applied during 1.2 milliseconds at 5-Hz
frequency with a 0.3-mm laser spot diameter. For the I-
shaped joint, 4 diametrically opposed welding points
were initially made under argon atmosphere. Thereafter,
the specimens were removed from the matrix to add
welding points until complete union of the segments was
obtained. For the X-shaped joints, 2 welding points were
rst made to connect the central part of the joint, fol-
lowed by additional welding points (2 to 4) until the
chamfer was lled with 0.2 mm Ti-6Al-4V-based welding
stick (Grade 5 Ti-6Al-4V; Realum).
After the welding procedures, the welded regions
were evaluated radiographically (Timex 70; Gnatus) by
digital imaging (X-Scan Duo; Air Techniques) to detect
any defect represented by radiolucent points at the
joints. Additionally, a dye-revealing liquid (VP 30; Metal-
Chek) was applied to detect any surface failure.22,26,32
Specimens that showed failures were discarded and
replaced.
Specimens were tested for exural strength in 3-point
bending design with two 3-mm-diameter rods and
20-mm span-length between supports.31,33 Compressive
loading was applied at 0.5 mm/min crosshead speed with a
3-mm-diameter rod positioned at the center of the spec-
imen. The test was considered nished when any sudden
loading change (load drop) representing failure or per-
manent deformation of the beam was detected, until a
maximum displacement of 5 mm. The exural strength
(MPa) of the specimens was obtained by using the
following equation:
fs=8FL=pD ; 3
where fs is the exural strength (MPa), F is the value
of fracture strength or elastic limit (N), L is the distance
Simamoto Jnior et al
3
Figure 2. Weld penetration area. Specimen cross-sectional area
(P1=7.31 mm2) and nonwelded area (P2=1.35 mm2) were delimited,
and nonwelded areas were subtracted from total cross-sectional area
of specimen (P1 P2).
between supports, and D is the diameter of the specimen
(mm).33
The fracture surfaces of the TIG and laser-welded
specimens were examined with stereomicroscopy
at 2.5 magnication (MS5; Leica Microsystems Inc) to
determine the level of weld penetration at the fracture
regions. Images were captured and analyzed with a
digital camera (Moticam 2000; Motic Instruments Inc)
and software (Motic Images Plus 2.0 ML; Motic In-
struments Inc) to obtain measurements of the welding
penetration.33 The nonwelded areas were subtracted
from the total cross-sectional area of the specimens,
resulting in the weld penetration area (Fig. 2).
Representative fractured segments of each experi-
mental group were selected and evaluated under scan-
ning electron microscopy (SEM). The fracture surfaces
were examined by SEM (JSM 5600LV; JEOL) to check the
welding penetration area and the characteristic of the
failures, and to perform morphologic characterization of
the welded region.33
Flexural strength and weld penetration area data
were analyzed with 2-way analysis of variance (ANOVA)
and the Tukey post hoc test. One-way ANOVA and the
Dunnett test were used to compare the experimental
groups with the control group. The Pearson correlation
test was used to correlate the exural strength and weld
penetration area for all groups (a=.05 for all statistical
tests).
RESULTS
The mean exural strength values and standard deviation
according to the welding type and joint design are listed in
Tables 1 to 3. The factors welding type (P<.001) and joint
design (P<.001) were statistically signicant for the ex-
ural strength as shown by 2-way ANOVA. The interaction
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Table 1. Two-way ANOVA (32) for exural strength values Table 2. Mean exural strength (MPa) and standard deviation ()
Sources of Variation df Sum of Square Mean Square F P Groups Flexural Strength P
Welding type 1 5716901.8 5716901.8 74.8 <.001 Control 2311.0 55.4 -
Joint design 2 3415932.9 1707966.5 22.3 <.001 LI 1134.9 400.3* <.001
Welding type joint design 2 249786.0 124893.2 1.7 .205 LX30 1831.8 259.8* .002
Residual 54 4127947.7 76443.5 LX45 1673.3 340.2* <.001
Total 59 13510568.4 228992.7 TI 1906.3 184.5* .013
TX30 2287.4 226.0 .990
TX45 2298.3 173.4 .995
*Signicant difference from control group. Data analyzed by 1-way ANOVA and Dunnett
Table 3. Mean exural strength (MPa) and standard deviation () test (P<.05).
comparing factors welding type and joint design
Welding Type
Joint design Laser TIG Table 4. Two-way ANOVA (32) for weld penetration area values
I 1134.9 400.3Bb 1906.3 184.5Ab Sum of Mean
Sources of Variation df Square Square F P
X30 1831.8 259.8Ba 2287.4 226.0Aa
Ba Aa
Welding type 1 0.2 0.1 0.7 .408
X45 1673.3 340.2 2298.3 173.4
Joint design 2 84.4 42.2 145.9 <.001
Different uppercase letters indicate signicant difference in rows (welding type). Different Welding type joint design 2 9.0 4.5 15.6 <.001
lowercase letters indicate signicant difference in columns (joint design) (statistical categories
dened by Tukey test; a=.05). Residual 54 15.6 0.3
Total 59 109.2 1.9

between the study factors was not statistically signicant

(P=.205). The Dunnett test showed that the control group Table 5. Mean weld penetration area (mm2), standard deviation (), and
presented similar exural strength to TX30 and TX45 mean weld percentage comparing factors welding type and joint design
groups (Table 2) but had signicantly higher exural Weld Type
strength than LI, LX30, LX45, and TI. No signicant dif- Joint Design Laser (%) TIG (%)
ferences were found between the exural strength values I 3.6 0.6Bb 45.3 4.7 0.4Ac 59.2
within the X30- and X45-shaped joints for the 2 welding X30 6.9 0.6Aa 86.9 6.0 0.6Bb 75.5
methods (Table 3). Signicantly higher exural strength X45 6.7 0.4Aa 84.4 6.8 0.5Aa 85.6
(P<.001) was found for both X-shaped joints when Different uppercase letters indicate signicant difference in rows (welding type) and different
compared with the I-shaped joint, regardless of the welding lowercase letters indicate signicant difference in columns (joint design) (statistical categories
dened by Tukey test; a=.05).
type. TIG welding resulted in signicantly higher exural
strength than laser welding, regardless of the joint design.
was rejected because, despite X-shaped joints produced
The mean values for the weld penetration area and
with 30- and 45-degree angles exhibiting no signicant
standard deviation according to the welding type and
differences in exural strength regardless of the weld-
joint design are listed in Tables 4, 5. The factor welding
ing type, TX30 presented lower welded areas than
type was not statistically signicant (P =.408), but signif-
TX45. The third null hypothesis was also rejected, in
icant differences were found for the joint design (P<.001)
that TIG welding resulted in higher exural strength
and for the interaction between the factors (P<.001)
than laser welding for all joint designs, and dissimilar
(Table 5). When laser welding was used, the welded area
welded areas were observed depending on the welding
observed for the X30- and X45-shaped joints was not
method.
signicantly different; however, both X-shaped joints
Several factors may inuence the mechanical strength
presented higher welded areas than the I-shaped joint.
of welded joints, for example, alloy composition, diam-
When TIG welding was used, the X45-shaped joint
eter of prosthetic framework, welding equipment
showed the highest welded area, followed by the X30-
parameters, and joint design.12,21,29,33 The welding
and then the I-shaped joints. Comparing the welding
penetration ability is directly related to the combination
types, TIG resulted in higher welded areas than laser for
of these factors and, because incomplete penetration
the I-shaped joint. For the X30-shaped joint, laser weld-
commonly results in failures and/or nonwelded internal
ing resulted in higher welded areas than TIG. The welded
areas,17 is one of the main issues affecting the strength of
areas of the X45-shaped joint were not signicantly
welded joints. Pores, cracks, and aws within the joint
different when using TIG or laser welding.
can act as stress concentrators and lead to premature
failures.27
DISCUSSION
The low density of titanium (4.2 g/cm3) allows the use
The rst null hypothesis was rejected because the of periapical radiographs to investigate porosities and
performance of the X-shaped joint was superior to internal defects in the framework and welded joints.22,32
that of the I-shaped joint. The second null hypothesis The radiographic assessment highlighted internal voids

THE JOURNAL OF PROSTHETIC DENTISTRY Simamoto Jnior et al

- 2015
Figure 3. SEM images of fracture joints from laser welded specimens. A, LI specimen fracture surface (25 magnication). B, LX30 specimen fracture
surface (25 magnication). C, LX45 specimen fracture surface (25 magnication). D, Magnication of fracture surface from LX45 specimen indicating
presence of pores (500 magnication).
resulting from insufcient welding penetration, which
were represented by radiolucent areas at the central re-
gion of the joint. However, distinguishing internal voids,
pores, and cracks was not possible. Limitations can exist
with this technique, and the possibility of detecting
small defects depends on the accuracy of the x-ray unit
and digital sensor. Analysis with computed micro-
tomography can be more responsive.15 In contrast, minor
defects at the joints of prosthetic frameworks can usually
be accepted; however, they often result in premature
failures.31 A dyeing liquid was employed in this study to
detect discontinuities at the framework surfaces, but the
specimens showed no evidence of surface defects, sug-
gesting that both welding processes were effective in
providing smooth surfaces.
The exural strength of the X-shaped TIG specimens
was statistically similar to that of the control group
(Table 2). These results are comparable to previous
ndings using intact nonwelded titanium beams as con-
trol specimens.33 Despite the higher values observed
with TIG welding, the I-shaped specimens presented
lower exural strength than that of the X-shaped design,
regardless of the welding method (Table 3). This nding
Simamoto Jnior et al
5
also agrees with results already reported for I-shaped
specimens joined with different welding parameters.33
The assessments for weld penetration area showed
signicantly lower values for the I-shaped design than for
X-shaped joints with both welding methods (Table 5).
This occurred because of the limited welding capability of
both welding processes for the I-shaped design. The
incomplete welding of the central region in I-shaped
specimens resulted in voids, with a signicant decrease in
the exural strength (Figs. 3A, 4A). Studies have shown
that weld penetration can be impaired when I-shaped
design is used in Ti alloy specimens greater than 3 mm
in diameter, with a consequent decrease in joint
strength.27,30 These ndings are corroborated by our re-
sults, in that the I-shaped joint design resulted in lower
strength values, regardless of the welding method
(Table 3).
The chamfering on X-shaped joints is designed to
reduce the cross-sectional area of the piece, allowing the
heat generated by the welding equipment to reach the
center of the joint region, thus obtaining complete
joining of the parts.28,29 This procedure was effective in
overcoming the penetration limitations of both welding
THE JOURNAL OF PROSTHETIC DENTISTRY
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Figure 4. SEM images of fracture joints from TIG welded specimens. A, TI specimen fracture surface (25 magnication). B, TX30 specimen fracture
surface (25 magnication). C, TX45 specimen fracture surface (25 magnication). D, Magnication of fracture surface from TX45 specimen, indicating
presence of dimples (white arrows) (500 magnication).

methods used. The angle variation (30 or 45 degree
chamfer), however, did not signicantly affect the exural
strength of the specimens (Table 3). Despite the higher
welded areas veried for the X45 specimens, the X30
joint design is more useful because less time is required
to ll the chamfer completely and less lling material and
gas is consumed for the 2 welding methods.
TIG welding associated with X-shaped design resul-
ted in higher joint resistance and was the only combi-
nation to perform similarly to the control group (Table 2).
In this welding method, the joint lling has more volume
for each pulse applied because of the higher diameter of
the fusion point promoted by the increased heating
input. This is advantageous because it allows for com-
plete welding in less time and requires less gas shielding.
This fact can also justify the increased resistance obtained
by X-shaped joints compared with I- shaped design for
TIG welding, because nal weld volume tends to be
higher. Thus, the joints of titanium-based frameworks
can be inuenced by the welding techniques and by the
operator.13
The SEM analysis of the fracture surfaces showed
higher occurrence of pores on the surface of laser-welded
specimens (Fig. 3D). The presence of pores can probably
be attributed to the incorporation of gases such as argon
and oxygen present in the equipment chamber during
welding.12 This fact associated with the limited penetra-
tion of laser welding seems to explain the lower exural
strength for this method.21 Another relevant factor
observed at the SEM evaluation was the presence of
ripples, called dimples, on the fracture surface of TIG
specimens (Fig. 4D).21 The fracture surfaces of the TIG
groups clearly show a more complex joint arrangement
when compared with the laser specimens. Studies have
shown that the formation of dimples in the fractured
welded areas is characteristic of ductile materials.21
Ductile fractures of metals, in general, are character-
ized by dimpled fracture surfaces caused by the micro-
scale mechanism of microvoid coalescence, which
typically is associated with macroscopic ductile fractures
and is accepted as the dominant fracture mechanism in
engineering materials.34 The presence of dimples on the
fracture surfaces of the specimens from TIG groups
shows that this welding process was more effective in
preserving some ductility from the original material than
the laser method. However, the limits of the elastic

THE JOURNAL OF PROSTHETIC DENTISTRY Simamoto Jnior et al

- 2015
exure formula for the mechanical testing of ductile
materials, such as titanium alloy, should be respected,
because ductile materials under compression loading can
only swell or buckle without fracture. Thus, the elastic
limit of specimens must be taken into consideration
during testing to avoid misunderstandings.
All joint designs welded by TIG exhibited higher
exural strength than laser joints; however, differences
were found for weld penetration. For this factor, results
varied according to the joint design used, and superiority
of the welding methods was not detected (Table 5).
Although laser welding has obtained satisfactory results
in terms of welded area, this fact was not related to
higher mechanical joint strength, possibly due to the
increased incidence of pores and to the lower ductility of
the welded joint, as observed in the SEM analysis.21,26
A signicant (P<.001), but moderate (0.55), correla-
tion was found between the exural strength values and
the weld penetration area for both welding methods.
This nding is in accordance with previous investigations
and indicates that the weld penetration ability is impor-
tant in determining the nal resistance of the welded
framework.17 Both TIG and laser welding methods re-
sulted in higher exural strength when increased weld
penetration was obtained by using the X-shaped design.
In contrast with the results obtained in the present
study, a previous study using fatigue tests to compare
titanium alloy specimens welded with TIG and laser
methods found no signicant difference for the joint
resistance with the X-shaped design.30 This prior study
also showed that laser welding was more efcient than
TIG for the I-shaped design. The differences between the
results suggest that the mechanical behavior of the
welded joint varies with the mechanical test used and
that the mechanical fatigue may be determinant for
the strength of welded joints. Therefore, isolated me-
chanical results have relative clinical viability, because
when prosthetic structures are under function, they are
subjected to a combination of forces involving exure
(compression and tensile stresses), bending, twisting,
and/or shearing, associated with thermal fatigue. The
results of in vitro mechanical tests cannot be directly
transferred to clinical practice; rather they may guide the
search and determination of more suitable parameters
regarding the laboratory steps in the fabrication of
prosthetic frameworks, the training of technicians, and
the calibration of prosthetic laboratories.33
The results of this study indicate that the use of
X-shaped joint design increased the weld penetration
and exural strength of welded titanium alloy bars
(Ti-6Al-4V) 3.18 mm in diameter, both for the TIG and
laser welding methods. However, TIG welding was
most effective for these applications. Further studies
will benet the establishment of protocols that could
minimize welding failures at framework manufacturing.
Simamoto Jnior et al
7
Future research using microtomographic analysis and
cyclic fatigue would provide valuable data.
CONCLUSIONS
Within the limitations of this in vitro study, the X-shaped
design resulted in higher exural strength (P<.001) and
weld penetration area (P<.001) for TIG and laser welding.
The variation on the chamfer angle (30 and 45 degrees)
for the X-shaped design had no signicant inuence on
the exural strength of either of the welding methods
(P=.67). TIG welding resulted in higher exural strength
for the joined titanium specimens than laser welding, and
weld penetration area varied for the welding methods
according to the joint design (P<.001).
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Corresponding author:
Dr Paulo Czar Simamoto Jnior
Department of Occlusion, Fixed Prosthodontics, and Dental Materials
School of Dentistry, Federal University of Uberlndia
Av. Par 1720, Bloco 4LA, Sala 4LA42
Campus Umuarama, 38405-902, Uberlndia, MG
BRAZIL
Email: psimamoto@foufu.ufu.br
Acknowledgments
The authors are indebted to dental technician Mr Marco Galbiatti for the
assistance in laser welding procedures.
Copyright 2015 by the Editorial Council for The Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry.

THE JOURNAL OF PROSTHETIC DENTISTRY Simamoto Jnior et al