Full-contour zirconia restorations have increased in popularity among dental professionals who value the material’s robust mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and high flexural strength. Milled in their final shape with excellent occlusal detail, these restorations can be utilized for individual crowns and small bridges while maintaining a preferably thin wall thickness. Full-contour zirconia results in high-strength restorations with excellent esthetics that seamlessly blend with neighboring teeth.

A 2015 survey revealed that 85% of dental patients prefer single-visit dentistry, with two out three claiming they would switch from a dentist who provides traditional treatment to one who specializes in CEREC single-visit dentistry.1 With those statistics in mind, it’s vital to adopt a fast and efficient workflow to meet patients’ desires. Through more than three decades of CAD/CAM innovations, CEREC makes it possible to create monolithic zirconia restorations chairside in less time and with enhanced results in four simple steps.

Digital impressions with the CEREC Omnicam scanner

The CEREC Omnicam scanner is a small, powder-free, color camera with superior handling that captures precise, full-arch 3D scans in natural color to produce optimal clinical results. Lightweight yet compact, CEREC Omnicam provides intuitive handling for easy scanning—simply glide the camera tip over the teeth and the digital impression appears in real time on the CEREC monitor.

Restoration design

The second step in the CEREC Zirconia workflow, the CEREC software automatically designs a restoration proposal requiring little if any manual adjustment on the part of the practitioner, thereby expediting the path to production. One of the unique qualities of the CEREC software is its ability to analyze the whole scan using its articulator function, which allows practitioners to determine both the static and dynamic surfaces to attain precise functional occlusion. CEREC allows for individual intervention in removing occlusion contacts, as well as the right-to-left adjustment of jaw joints, utilizing several procedural parameters.

Restoration production

To produce a full-contour zirconia restoration, CEREC software seamlessly synchronizes with the CEREC grinding and milling unit to produce anatomically-precise restorations in minutes. CEREC’s grinding and milling machines utilize high-precision, diamond milling burs, include a built-in vacuum for discarding of mill shavings, and can be used for both wet and dry processes, the latter of which saves significant time because the restoration can be sintered immediately, eliminating the need for it to dry first. Three different CEREC milling and grinding units, CEREC MC, CEREC MC X, and CEREC MC XL Practice Labœ, are customized to meet individual requirements.

Sintering and glazing

Finally, full-contour zirconia restorations are sintered and glazed in the CEREC SpeedFire furnace, the smallest and fastest furnace in the industry. This compact counter-top furnace provides unrivaled sintering and firing times, as it typically sinters a single crown in 10 to 15 minutes. User-friendly and effective, the CEREC SpeedFire’s brief sintering cycles are determined by the dry milling of the pre-sintered material - without a need for a prolonged drying process. In addition to zirconia, the CEREC SpeedFire is capable of processing other materials, such as Celtra® Duo (ZLS). The furnace’s robust sintering, firing, and glazing capabilities make CEREC SpeedFire a logical fit for any practice.

Reference: 1. Exevia GmbH dental patient survey, November 2015.