How to Prevent Chipping in Zirconia Restorations

By LMT Communications, Inc.

Posted Apr 28, 2011 in Digital Dentistry



Dr. Ed McLaren, DDS, MDC, Director of the UCLA Centers for Esthetic Dentistry and Esthetic Design, is at the forefront of research on zirconia and 3M™ ESPE™ Lava™ restorations. He talks about his experience with porcelain-to-zirconia restorations and how to minimize chipping.




At the UCLA School of Dentistry, we've been involved with zirconia since 2003, and have placed more than 1,200 Lava restorations that we continue to follow. Around 2005, we began seeing some chips and delaminations, at a rate of about 3% per year on our early samples.


We talked with ceramic engineers about the thermal behavior of zirconia and the significant differences between porcelain and zirconia. With porcelain fused to zirconia, the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) is a critical issue just as it is with porcelain fused to metal. However, zirconia presents a new challenge due to its slower heating and cooling...

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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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