The Challenge of Surface Glaze

By LMT Communications, Inc.

Posted Jan 13, 2015 in Technical

By Renato Carretti


A female patient, approximately 65 years old, presented with tooth #10 fractured down to the root; it was extracted and an implant was seated. She had had a gold filling on tooth #9 for nearly 45 years, and couldn’t imagine her appearance without it.


Although the gap following implantation was not provisionally restored, the gingival situation was excellent (see Figure 1). During the intraoral try-in, the crown showed good results in the cervical gingiva as well as good fit and shade match.


Optimizing the Surface


It’s not possible to recreate the surface of a crown to mimic a natural tooth by means of a glaze firing alone. Consequently, the glaze firing was followed by manual polishing with pumice powder and a hand brush, resulting in a matte glaze (see Figure 2). This takes five to 10 minutes but with a little experience, the surface looks considerably more natural than with a glaze firing:...

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About The Author

  • LMT Communications, Inc.

    LMT Communications delivers the business strategies, information, dental laboratory news and education that dental laboratory decision-makers need to succeed. In Print. In Person. Online.

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