Photo by Ray Bryant, Bryant Studios
designing,” notes Kip Estep. “With the latest state-of-the-art
technology at Fuji Dental Laboratory, 85% of the work on posterior crowns is done in the designing and milling process, while
their skilled technicians finish up the remaining 15% by hand.
This allows Fuji to focus on the details that set their crowns
apart from those produced by other labs, especially the labs that
send their work overseas.”
SUPERIOR TECHNOLOGY FOR POSTERIOR CROWNS
In their day-to-day experience in the dental laboratory, the team
at Fuji has witnessed a major transformation: Porcelain-Fusedto-Metal (PFM) crowns are rapidly becoming the floppy disks
of dentistry. Why? The answer lies in the inherently superior
properties of new all-porcelain restorations, and in how those
properties impact the quality, esthetics, and performance of the
final restoration.
Superior strength. Owner Kip Estep remarks, “Four years ago,
about 25% of our work was metal-free restorations. Today, the
portion of our work that is metal-free has grown to more than
75%, and that trend is continuing as more and more dentists
move to all-porcelain restorations. Dentists tell us that switching to metal-free restorations has had a positive impact on their
practices because it translates into fewer re-makes and adjustments, and happier patients.”
Although all-porcelain restorations were initially considered
inferior to PFM, today’s all-porcelain crowns are simply
stronger. While PFM has a strength of 120-130 MPa, new hightech porcelain materials test at a dramatically higher strength.
The MegaPascal (MPa) is a unit measure of the stiffness,
tensile strength and compressive strength of materials.
Most labs offer milled IPS e.Max (lithium disilicate), while far
fewer offer pressed IPS e.Max because it is more costly to produce. Fuji is among the elite few to offer pressed IPS e.Max for
its significant advantages, including superior strength and performance.
To put these measurements in perspective: Structural steel tests
at a strength of 200 MPa. Milled IPS e.Max material has a
strength of around 360 MPa while pressed IPS e.Max has a
strength of around 400 MPa. The full contour zirconia Fuji
Bruxer Crown has a strength of around 1125 MPa – just under
that of diamond (1220 MPa).
Superior esthetics. Patients often complain about the gray
lines seen at the gingival of PFM crowns. According to Master
Ceramist Yuji Ono, “This happens because the light cannot pass
through the metal portion of the crown, which gives the PFM
restoration a ‘dead’ appearance. Also, it is difficult to achieve a
good thin margin with PFM. With metal-free restorations, you
can achieve thin margins and a straight emergence profile.
The executive team of Fuji Dental Laboratory has led them to a nationwide
reputation for excellence.
Superior fit. The process of creating PFM crowns is pl