How do Dental Labs and Technicians Choose Zirconia?

With the advancement and application of new dental material technologies, zirconia has become widely accepted by dental practitioners and patients globally. It is fair to say that zirconia is now the preferred material in the field of dental restoration. Currently, there are many manufacturers of dental zirconia, offering increasingly specialized product types.

There are two critical steps:

Firstly, effective communication between the doctor and the patient is essential to clarify the patient’s restoration expectations.

Secondly, a thorough oral examination, analysis, and a comprehensive treatment plan, alongside the selection of suitable restorative materials and excellent cooperation between the doctor and technician, are required to create a perfect dental prosthesis.

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Current Topic: A comprehensive treatment plan is key to successful dental aesthetic restoration. Learn how to choose different brands of zirconia restorative materials.

 

Understanding Different Types of Zirconia

1. Monochromatic Zirconia:

Characteristics: Typically used for full crowns and bridges. It has lower color and translucency, mainly utilized for posterior restorations where aesthetics are less critical but higher strength is required.

Advantages: Extremely durable and capable of withstanding chewing forces.

Representative Product: 3M™ Lava Plus Zirconia

A long-standing product from 3M, introduced in 2001 and used in nearly 50 countries, with over a million Lava Zirconia restorations applied to patients, demonstrating mature and reliable technology.

Features of Lava Plus Zirconia:

– Precise margin fit

– Reliable dedicated CAD/CAM zirconia system

– Strength of 1440 MPa

– Patented staining technology providing 8 base crown colors

These products are generally used for posterior teeth and require internal staining with staining solutions before the final sintering, achieving a color close to the adjacent teeth after sintering. The ultra-high strength meets the usage needs of all posterior teeth.

Representative Product: Dentsply Sirona Cercon xt

Description: Cercon xt is a high-translucency zirconia product from Dentsply Sirona, designed for aesthetic zone restorations. This product utilizes a unique formulation and processing technology, offering excellent translucency and strength, making the restorations perform outstandingly in both aesthetics and functionality. Cercon xt is suitable for various restorations such as single crowns, inlays, and veneers, especially in the anterior aesthetic zone.

Advantages: Excellent translucency and strength, suitable for aesthetic zone restorations, natural color.

Disadvantages: Complex processing, higher cost.

Parameters: Flexural Strength >1,200 MPa, Translucency >49%.

Representative Product: Zirkonzahn Prettau Anterior

Description: Prettau Anterior is a high-wear-resistant zirconia material from Zirkonzahn, designed for long-span bridge restorations. This product is renowned for its excellent wear resistance and high strength, suitable for various complex restorations such as long-span bridges and full-mouth restorations. The high strength and durability of Prettau Anterior make it an ideal choice for functional restorations while also possessing good aesthetics.

Advantages: High wear resistance, suitable for long-span bridge restorations, high strength, stable color.

Disadvantages: Difficult to mill, complex processing.

Parameters: Flexural Strength >1,000 MPa, Translucency 35%.

2. Pre-shaded Zirconia:

Characteristics: Color is incorporated during manufacturing, resulting in a more natural color effect for the final restoration.

Advantages: Reduces subsequent staining steps, shortens production time, and enhances aesthetics.

Representative Product: KATANA™ Zirconia HTML PLUS

A leading product from the Japanese dental brand Kuraray Noritake, known for its extensive product line. Early on, the company was famous for its metal ceramics, and its EX-3 metal ceramic powder and CZR zirconia ceramic powder remain major players in the dental market.

HTML PLUS features the use of unique raw materials to enhance the translucency of traditional white zirconia without compromising strength. Therefore, it is a reliable framework or full arch bridge material, offering shapes and colors that closely match the patient’s natural teeth.

Specifications:

– Translucency: 45%

– Strength: 1,150 MPa

– Application Range: Monolithic Crowns, Monolithic Bridges, Cut-back Frameworks, Frameworks

Based on experience, if you need to make a single posterior crown without spending much time on internal staining, this Japanese material is an excellent choice, fulfilling the task effectively.

Representative Product:VITA Zahnfabrik

Representative Product: VITA YZ XT

VITA YZ XT is a high-strength and high-translucency zirconia material from VITA Zahnfabrik, suitable for various full-ceramic restorations. This product combines the strength of zirconia with aesthetic effects, providing excellent color matching and translucency, making it an ideal choice for single crowns, bridges, and inlays. The high strength and stability of VITA YZ XT make it widely applicable in clinical practice.

Advantages: High strength and translucency, suitable for full-ceramic restorations, stable color.

Disadvantages: Longer sintering time, higher cost.

Parameters: Flexural Strength >1,200 MPa, Optical Transmittance 40%.

3. Layered Zirconia (Multilayer Zirconia):

Characteristics: Features a multilayer structure with varying translucency and color in each layer, better mimicking the appearance of natural teeth.

Advantages: More aesthetically pleasing compared to monolayer zirconia, suitable for anterior restorations.

Representative Product: GC America Initial UHT

GC Initial UHT is a full-zirconia material launched by GC America, known for its high strength and excellent aesthetics. It is particularly suitable for full-contour zirconia restorations like crowns and bridges. The material offers great color stability and translucency, making it a popular choice for both anterior and posterior restorations.

Advantages: High strength, excellent aesthetics, suitable for full-contour restorations, great color stability.

Disadvantages: Limited translucency compared to layered zirconia, higher cost.

Parameters: Flexural Strength >1,200 MPa, Translucency 40%.

Representative Product: Beautyzir™ 3D Pro Zirconia

A rapidly emerging Chinese dental zirconia brand over the past five years, with 3D Pro being their flagship model. It rivals top-tier products in performance while costing only half as much.

Features of Beautyzir 3D Pro Zirconia:

– Achieves multidimensional gradient aesthetics at a very low procurement cost, with natural gradients in strength, translucency, and color, closely resembling natural teeth.

– Compatible with all mainstream CAD/CAM equipment.

– Global online direct sales and shipping, ensuring rapid service response and shipping efficiency.

4. High Translucency Zirconia:

Characteristics: High translucency, suitable for aesthetically demanding restorations such as anterior teeth.

Advantages: More natural appearance, ideal for creating restorations that closely resemble natural teeth.

Representative Product: IPS e.max ZirCAD Prime

A product from the renowned international company Ivoclar, known for its reliability and excellent aesthetic outcomes. ZirCAD Prime stands out for both its stability and aesthetic properties.

Product Features:

– Supports 3-unit bridge framework with 1 pontic

– Incisal translucency up to 49%

– Compatible with 98mm system equipment

The high brand recognition in the industry ensures good patient acceptance, although it comes with higher costs, making it more suitable for high-end patient groups. Performance-wise, it offers excellent multilayer gradient aesthetics, suitable for both anterior and posterior teeth.

Representative Product: Dental Direkt cubeX2 ML

DD cubeX2 ML is a high-strength zirconia material launched by Dental Direkt, designed for long-span bridge restorations. This product is renowned for its high strength and durability, suitable for various complex restorations such as long-span bridges and full-mouth restorations. The high strength and stability of DD cubeX2 ML make it widely applicable in clinical practice while also possessing good aesthetics.

Advantages: High strength, suitable for long-span bridge restorations, high durability.

Disadvantages: Moderate aesthetics, higher cost.

Parameters: Flexural Strength >1,200 MPa, Translucency 30%.

5. Hybrid Zirconia:

Characteristics: Combines different types of zirconia materials, typically merging high strength gradients, high translucency, and ease of use.

Advantages: Offers both high strength and aesthetics, suitable for restorations that require a balance of functionality, aesthetics, and efficiency. It theoretically enables same-day patient visits and prosthesis delivery.

Representative Product:Aidite 3D Pro Multilayer

3D Pro Multilayer is a multi-layer color gradient zirconia material launched by Aidite, featuring high aesthetics. This product uses advanced multi-layer design, allowing the restoration to exhibit different colors and translucency at varying thicknesses, achieving optimal aesthetic effects. 3D Pro Multilayer is suitable for single crowns, bridges, and inlays, particularly suitable for high aesthetic demand anterior restorations.

Advantages: Multi-layer color gradient, high aesthetics, suitable for aesthetic restorations.

Disadvantages: Lower strength, complex processing.

Parameters: Flexural Strength >700-1050 MPa, Translucency 43-57%.

Representative Product: Ceradirect™ Speed Zirconia

Over the past 15 years, the development of Chinese dental materials has outpaced traditional manufacturers from Europe, Japan, and the US. Products like Ceradirect have captured the market with their keen market insights and rapid, efficient product development, attracting many former users of European and American brands.

Speed Zirconia excels in every aspect, recognizing the urgent need for dental labs and clinics to enhance delivery speed and reduce patient visits. This product achieves these goals without compromising aesthetic performance.

Product Features:

Combines the advantages of previous zirconia materials with the remarkable ability for rapid sintering within 30 minutes.

Suitable for SpeedFire machines with systems 5.0 or higher, using the DEMO5 demonstration curve.

Ultra-high translucency of 45%-51% for highly aesthetic cases.

High strength of 900-1200 MPa, suitable for multi-unit restorations.

Up to 9 layers of gradient colors, achieving a multidimensional gradient effect close to natural teeth.

This product is ideal for clients who prioritize efficiency and want to quickly and perfectly produce prosthetics without incurring high costs. However, if dentists or patients have strong preferences for certain material brands or origins, it is advisable to stick with European and Japanese brands.

pic. Ceradirect™ Speed Zirconia and Case Examples. source: brand’s official website

Summary:

How to Choose the Right Zirconia Material?

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Regardless of the choice, it is crucial to select brands with proper certification and years of sales experience. Besides purchasing from familiar local distributors, ordering from online stores can also be considered. This method eliminates intermediary trade steps, offers direct shipping from manufacturers, ensures more transparent pricing, and provides direct technical support, making it a widely accepted procurement method in recent years.