The other day I stopped to recall my personal “pre-zirconia” era — those grueling days before zirconia crowns.

Do you remember yours?

It’s strange to say now, but I had never placed a zirconia crown before I joined Glidewell in 2015. Zirconia crowns & bridges were simply not a part of my chairside studies in dental school. And I’ll admit that my lack of firsthand experience corresponded with a bit of skepticism back then. I wondered whether such a strong, tooth-colored dental material was warranted.

The answer, I soon found, was a resounding yes.

In five years of prescribing BruxZir^® Zirconia crowns & bridges, I have seen one reason after another why these monolithic restorations surpass other restorative materials (and why BruxZir Zirconia sets the standard for high-quality dental zirconia). Today, I’m sharing my personal top three reasons.

1. LONG-LASTING BEAUTY

Bruxism is a persistent challenge, a phenomenon that proves to be the undoing of inferior dental restorations. And during the pandemic, bruxism can feel like the challenge for us as dentists, as we see patients whose stress is manifesting in grinding and clenching. Fortunately, BruxZir Zirconia crowns outlast these parafunctional habits and day-to-day occlusal forces.

Consider the numbers: a flexural strength of 1,150 MPa, on average, for BruxZir Full-Strength Zirconia and 870 MPa for BruxZir Esthetic Zirconia. Both numbers speak to why zirconia crowns are so remarkably durable. BruxZir Zirconia is so strong, in fact, that it beats the hammer test. (To learn more — and see how some manufacturers report exaggerated flexural strength ratings — check out this R&D spotlight of dental zirconia.)

High Flexural Strength

The strength of lifelike BruxZir Esthetic crowns is especially noteworthy. For context, let’s briefly look at the history of zirconia crowns.

Dentists who prescribed BruxZir Zirconia crowns on day one of the material’s use — back in 2009 — have told me that the restorations’ strength was their defining quality. (You might recall that the original tagline for BruxZir Zirconia in 2009 was “More brawn than beauty.”) Today, BruxZir Zirconia has been serving dentists for 10-plus years. And the Glidewell Research & Development department has led the charge to innovate, validate and further expand dentistry’s No. 1 brand of monolithic zirconia.

This spirit of innovation brought us the 2018 breakthrough formulation of highly translucent BruxZir Esthetic Zirconia. In my experience, these zirconia crowns epitomize long-term predictability. And the lifelike appearance of BruxZir Esthetic Zirconia crowns easily rivals that of the glass ceramic and feldspathic porcelain restorations that I have prescribed through the years. Some dentists even prefer to prescribe BruxZir Esthetic Zirconia for restorations throughout the entire arch. Looking at the material’s strength and esthetics, it’s easy to see why.

In a different study, BruxZir Full-Strength Zirconia was shown to exhibit significantly less wear than Ceramco®3 porcelain in a comparison of the materials’ performance after 1.2 million cycles in a Willytec Chewing Simulator. The study simulated the clinical equivalent of approximately five years.

Causes Less Wear

3. DENTIST-FRIENDLY CHOICE

We’ve all been there: In one appointment, the task of getting a crisp, clear shoulder on a preparation proves impossible. In the very next, isolation is frustratingly elusive due to a preparation’s really deep margin. Such are the very real challenges of practicing dentistry. Fortunately, BruxZir Zirconia crowns can help all of us overcome these types of chairside demands any day of the week (and doubly on Mondays). The BruxZir material’s herculean strength and years of clinical validation provide peace of mind as we face dentistry’s difficulties.

Speaking of preparations, how does 0.5 mm sound? That’s the minimum threshold for BruxZir Full-Strength Zirconia (1.0 mm is ideal). And for BruxZir Esthetic Zirconia, the minimum is 0.7 mm (1.25 mm is ideal). Such minimal preparation requirements are a testament to the strength of each BruxZir Zirconia formulation. Other restorative materials are not so accommodating.

BruxZir Zirconia crowns also are the dentist-friendly choice thanks to ease of cementation. Other restorative materials require more time-consuming, technique-intensive cementation steps. However, BruxZir Zirconia crowns enable the use of more conventional cements.

Conclusion

Talking about BruxZir Zirconia crowns always brings me to one unifying word: predictability. In my experience, BruxZir Zirconia offers a level of predictability chairside that other restorative materials cannot match. And in the long term, the benefits are just as tangible, as BruxZir Zirconia results in durable, natural-looking restorations that are kind to opposing dentition. Plus, the range of restorative indications is astounding, with BruxZir Zirconia available for crowns & bridges, veneers, full-arch restorations, screw-retained restorations and fully sintered in-office milling blocks.

Dentists around the world have prescribed BruxZir Zirconia more than 20 million times. I’m proud to be one of them.

IPS e.max is a registered trademark of Ivoclar Vivadent. Ceramco is a registered trademark of Dentsply Sirona Inc.