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Ceramics as such is one of the oldest cultural techniques known to man.

For example, a ceramic figure was found in the Czech Republic in 1925, the age of which is estimated to be around 30,000 years. Of course, this has little in common with today's ceramics.

While ceramics played a subordinate role in dentistry a few decades ago, today it is impossible to imagine modern dentistry without the material. The advance of new technologies and manufacturing processes continues and the patient's request for “metal-free dentures” is gradually being fulfilled, so that metal is only used in our practice in exceptional cases.

In the past, the dental fillings were made of silver-colored amalgam, but today they are replaced by composites reinforced with ceramic particles: metal crowns that were previously veneered with plastics are now provided with ceramic veneers or made entirely of all-ceramic, while pure metal restorations are made of gold - despite good ones Long-term experiences - are less and less desired.

The aesthetics of teeth are playing an increasingly important role in our society.

The range of applications for dental ceramics has expanded significantly in recent years due to further developments and better material properties. Inlays, onlays, crowns and partial crowns, bridges, implants and now even orthodontic brackets can be made of ceramic.

The advantages are obvious: ceramics are extremely biocompatible, corrosion-free, aesthetically pleasing, have low plaque accumulation and also have poor heat conduction, which is clearly beneficial for teeth and temperature sensitivity.

The best-known representative of dental ceramics is certainly zirconium dioxide or also called zirconium oxide. It is a ceramic with extremely high flexural strength and breaking strength. Due to these properties, bridges or implants can also be made from zirconium oxide.

The ceramic is usually delivered in blocks and the dental laboratory uses high-precision milling machines such as a 3D printer to mill the corresponding dentures. Newer methods allow the laboratory to digitally scan the plaster model, process the data on the computer and then transmit it to a computer-controlled precision milling machine.

Crowns and bridges can either be made of pure zirconium oxide and painted with special colors or only the framework is milled and then coated with ceramic materials and veneered, which creates a more aesthetically pleasing result.

A disadvantage of zirconium is its reduced light transmission compared to natural teeth, which is why the alternative, lithium disilicate ceramic, is often used for aesthetic restorations in the anterior region.

This glass ceramic has a high translucency and thus the dental technician can work with the dentist to create a restoration that looks amazingly similar to natural teeth.

The technique of veneers (ceramic veneers), which is widespread nowadays, for example, usually uses such glass ceramics.