7 Tips for Working with Zirconia Blocks in Your Dental Lab
Zirconia blocks have become a hot topic in the dental material research field in recent years due to their excellent performance. Zirchime dental restorations made from zirconia blocks are a new type of dental restorations with good mechanical properties, biocompatibility, stability, aesthetics, thermal conductivity and formability, which can well solve the problem of insufficient strength and toughness of conventional all-ceramic crown materials. There are many things to keep in mind when preparing and processing zirconia blocks in the lab of Zirchime. These tips are important to ensure your safety and the quality of finished product.
Here are some suggested tips when using zirconia blocks in a dental laboratory:
1.Choose the right zirconia blocks
Choosing the right type of zirconia block is the most basic. The particle size, particle distribution diameter, added ingredients, bonding method, purity and processing methods of different brands of zirconia blocks vary greatly. When processing and using zirconia blocks in dental laboratories, please use zirconia produced by well-known manufacturers. The clinically tested Dentsply Cercon, 3M-LAVA and UPCERA are of excellent and stable quality and are recommended to everyone. The raw materials of zirconia blocks teeth produced by Zirchime are all selected from the above suppliers to ensure the high quality of the products to the greatest extent. It can be seen that choosing zirconia blocks that suits your actual situation can ensure the quality and stability of the material.
2.Precision cutting and processing
When making all-ceramic teeth with zirconia blocks, appropriate cutting tools should be selected to cut and shape them to ensure that their appearance lines are smooth and the internal structure is not damaged. Zirconia blocks have strong hardness and toughness, but they are also prone to generate heat during cutting, which may cause burning or cracking. Therefore, the cutting force should be controlled during the cutting process to ensure that the zirconia blocks are not damaged. In addition, direct impact should be avoided. Direct impact may cause cracks or peeling of the porcelain layer, so this should be avoided during the cutting process.
3.Correct sintering process
When sintering all-ceramic teeth with zirconia blocks, the sintering equipment and tools must be kept clean. If there are pollutants, they may be mixed into the material and cause uneven hot zones, affecting the sintering results. The sintering temperatures and sintering times of zirconia blocks produced by different manufacturers are different, so before sintering, you must first check the sintering program to ensure that it is set as required. If there is a problem with the sintering program, it may cause burning, cracking and other problems. Keep the room temperature stable during sintering, and control the heating speed and heating intensity. Due to the different thickness of the teeth, the sintering time must also be adjusted according to the actual situation. This can avoid cracks and deformation of the material due to temperature changes.
4.Polishing
Whether it is zirconia or veneer porcelain, it needs to be highly polished after grinding to obtain a smooth surface. Most clinical practices use diamond turning needles for grinding, which significantly increases the surface roughness of zirconia crowns. The surface of zirconia blocks polished by diamond turning needles is very rough when observed under a microscope or a 10x magnifying glass. Studies have shown that when the surface roughness of the restoration increases, the relative wear of the enamel increases and the adhesion of dental plaque also increases, which explains why polishing is necessary. The roughness of the restoration surface should be minimized as much as possible through polishing to optimize oral health.
5.Cleaning of abutment teeth
Before bonding the zirconia block restoration, the abutment teeth should be cleaned with a fluorine-free and oil-free abutment polishing paste. At the same time, avoid using materials that affect the polymerization of resin cement, such as phenolic substances, oxidizing disinfectants and bleaching agents, alkaline sandblasting powder, etc. In addition, avoid using phosphoric acid. Phosphoric acid will affect the later bonding because it will react with the zirconia blocks and affect the chemical bonding of the cement. Therefore, do not use phosphoric acid to treat the inner surface during the preparation process before the restoration is bonded.
6.Proper storage of zirconia blocks
Zirconia blocks should be placed in a cool and dry place, avoid exposure to high temperature environments, and the general storage temperature should be controlled below 20°C. If exposed to high temperature environments, zirconia blocks may have quality problems such as lattice defects and decreased mechanical strength. Zirconia blocks are highly hygroscopic, so they should be kept as dry as possible during storage. Generally, they should be stored in a dry and ventilated place to avoid the influence of humid air. They can be placed in a sealed plastic bag or stored in a drying oven to keep them dry.
7.Optimized denture design software
For example, DentalCAD, a digital dental CAD/CAM software developed by exocad GmbH, is in a leading position in the industry. The software simplifies the operation process and obtains reliable design results by providing a high-performance, mature and open software platform. DentalCAD ??has extreme flexibility, rich functions, intuitive operation and solid reliability, and is suitable for designing beautiful and practical personalized restorations, such as crowns, bridges, veneers, inlays, etc. By optimizing the design software settings, laboratories can improve the efficiency and quality of zirconia blocks processing and ensure that the final product meets high standards of clinical needs.