Esthetic Alumina and Zirconia Rehabilitation: A Team Approach to Treatment Planning and Material Selection

To meet the ever-increasing demands of well-informed patients, an interdisciplinary team approach is imperative to achieve optimal esthetics and function in complex rehabilitations. Orthodontic pretreatment is one viable option to improve a clinical situation prior to restorative treatment. An individual diagnostic waxup can be used to educate patients about treatment options, lower unrealistic expectations, and serve the technician as a blueprint for ideal framework design. Newly developed dental materials and computer technology have led to new restorative treatment options for both conventional and implantretained restorations. With the increased processing power of computers over the past decade, computer-aided design/ computer-assisted manufacture (CAD/ CAM) copings, frameworks, and abutments for conventional and implant-supported restorations have significantly altered treatment protocols for dentists and dental technicians. CAD/CAM-generated oxide ceramic components can be used to achieve optimal esthetics in any area of the mouth.