Features and use of glass-ceramics in fabrication of fixed prosthetic restorations

Abstract

Due to the rapid development of materials science and production technologies in dentistry, especially computer-aided techniques in recent years, the range of indications to apply fullceramic fixed restorations not only in the anterior segment of the dental arch but also in the premolar and molar region has considerably widened. Because patient's expectations relating to the aesthetics of their dentition are constantly on the increase, more and more commonly fullceramic replacements become the first-choice of treatment for interdental gaps restoration and reconstruction of the dental hard tissues deficiencies. Among the types of ceramics known and currently used in manufacturing fixed restorations, glass-ceramics is used more and more often, as it is characterized by both high aesthetics and satisfactory parameters of mechanical strength. The aim of this publication is to systematize and compare the most commonly used types of glass-ceramics to produce full-ceramic fixed restorations. Their advantages and disadvantages and indications and contraindications to their application in various clinical cases have also been discussed.