Limited Space Calls for Multiple Monolithic Zirconia Bridges Over Titanium Subframe

The patient had an eight-unit PFM bridge on teeth #21-28 and complained about bulky incisal edges and chipped ceramics. Due to a medical issue, implants weren’t an option so we went with a removable solution: a milled titanium substructure with bi-lateral ball attachments and monolithic zirconia restorations.

Once I received the intraoral scans, I designed the full-contour restorations using Zirkonzahn’s Modellier software and included cutbacks for the framework. There was only .9mm of space from the prep to the occlusion, so I designed the framework to be as thin as possible. Also, because of the unique prep designs and path of insertions over the framework, I had to design three separate zirconia bridges.

I sent the framework out for milling; once I received it, I fitted the frame to a printed model and scanned it in order to finish designing the zirconia bridges, then milled them in house using my Zirkonzahn M5 milling machine and Zirkonzahn...