By now, most know the story. For decades, dentists and their patients relied on full-cast metal, metal occlusal, or porcelain-veneered crowns & bridges for their posterior restorations, learning to tolerate the failings of chipped porcelain and unsightly esthetics. Then a select army of material scientists, clinical researchers, CAD/CAM engineers and laboratory technicians gave birth to BruxZir^® Solid Zirconia, an all-ceramic solution with a natural appearance and the strength to withstand the heavy demands placed on posterior crowns.

Nearly 10 years and more than 16 million restorations later, the original BruxZir Full-Strength Solid Zirconia has exceeded every hope and expectation. And yet, its unmitigated success immediately had dentists looking for more. Though we conceived and promoted BruxZir zirconia as a posterior material, clinicians were soon prescribing it for anterior cases.

To better meet this demand, we initially turned to a high-translucency zirconia powder (Tosoh Corporation’s Zpex Smile^®) consisting of a higher concentration of yttria. We introduced the resulting material under the BruxZir Anterior brand, and watched a host of vendors follow suit — offering “translucent” zirconia materials under names of their own.

Unfortunately, the brand names proved to be the only significant difference, as all of these zirconias used the same source powder, and effectively the same generic, isostatic pressing process. Worse, doctors found that these materials were too translucent, and often marked by a gray appearance. As a ceramist of 50 years, I knew we could do better.

Pushed to develop a superior solution, we returned to our original colloidal process in order to completely redesign and formulate our own material. One that would enhance the translucency and vitality of BruxZir zirconia while still exceeding the flexural strength requirements set forth by the ISO standard for full-arch all-ceramic indications. In other words, to provide clinicians a trusted material strong enough to carry the BruxZir name, yet specifically designed to meet the esthetic demands of anterior crowns & bridges.

After three years of extensive investment and rigorous development by dozens of experts across a range of disciplines, we’re pleased to introduce BruxZir Esthetic Solid Zirconia. And we’re convinced that if you look past the marketing claims to the actual tests, or follow the clinical studies, or make the comparisons yourself, you’ll see that BruxZir Esthetic, like the original BruxZir Full-Strength zirconia before it, has raised the bar to stand in a class of its own. With its optimal combination of strength and translucency, lifelike vitality and enhanced shade matching, there’s no other material quite like it.

Or so our doctors have told us. Theirs is the opinion that matters. For they’re the ones restoring smiles and improving lives on a daily basis. It is their relentless drive to provide increasingly excellent results that inspires us to keep pace.

Even as I take a moment to thank everyone involved for this breakthrough achievement, and invite you to share your opinions, we at Glidewell Dental look to the next horizon of innovation in serving your needs.