CASE 1: Zirconia Denture Bridge

Dental technologists are constantly seeking advances in restorative materials and technology. Zirconia has long been of interest for its exceptional hardness, esthetics and biocompatibility. The combination of these properties and CAD/CAM technology are the driving force behind zirconia’s exponential growth in usage today. This article details two examples of zirconia used in daily practice. A 66 year old woman suffered significant anterior bone loss in an automobile accident. The patient underwent anterior ridge grafting for better implant placement. Implants were placed, allowed to heal and impressions taken for treatment. (Fig.1)

A denture set-up was performed to verify esthetics, lip support, phonics and tooth position. (Figs. 2 & 3)

The denture set-up was duplicated in wax and was reduced before scanning to provide adequate support for ceramics. (Fig. 4)

The wax-up was then scanned and a digital file was created. (Figs. 5 & 6)

The digital file was sent to the milling unit1 to be machined from a zirconia disc2. (Figs. 7 & 8)

The zirconia framework was refined and sintered for 10 hours. Titanium cylindrical interfaces3 were then temporarily luted with resin into the zirconia framework for intraoral try-in. (Figs. 9 to 11)

Once the intraoral try-in of the zirconia framework was approved, the resin and titanium interfaces were removed and tooth colored and tissue colored low-fusing porcelain4 specifically formulated for zirconia was applied and baked to the zirconia framework. (Fig. 12)