Newest Zirconias Offer High-End Esthetics With Strength

Multilayered 5Y zirconia provides what I believe to be the best color, value, and translucency. A multilayered puck can have not only different layers of translucency but also different levels of strength; for example, the zirconia I use has a 1,300-MPa bottom layer that gradually becomes 1,027 MPa at the incisal edge. The color of the incisal edge is important to me as well; with older mulltilayered zirconias that I used previously, it was white-ish, but the one I use now has more translucency, which creates a nicer restoration.

I like to put a face to a product. I prefer purchasing zirconia from a representative who comes into my office with samples for me to try and then follows up to take my order, rather than from someone who emails me and asks me to order through a website. When you meet a person face-to-face who represents the product, they are there for you. You have their contact information, so they can provide any customer service you need. If technical support is necessary, they can point you in the right direction, whether for the zirconia itself or for the equipment you use for it. That all plays a large role when I am selecting a zirconia.

The technology has given us an opportunity to help ourselves with the various libraries that are now available. Once you are comfortable with the software, you can design a very nice restoration in an ideal position within a multilayered puck. You can determine nesting strategies based on whether you want a restoration to be brighter or more chromatic; simply move it higher or lower within the puck, and you can achieve esthetics that require much less finishing in order to achieve the esthetics you want.

I am very interested in the future of 3D printing permanent restorations, but currently, the most reliable material for strength and durability is milled zirconia.

Edgar Martinez, MDC, is the owner of Simpatico Dental Studio in Plantation, Florida.