Titanium Dental Copings Prepared by a Powder Metallurgy Method: A Preliminary Report

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if the Procera pressed-powder method can be used to fabricate titanium copings. Materials and Methods: Commerciallypure titanium powder was used to prepare the copings. The powder was pressed onto an enlarged tooth preparation die of aluminum using cold isostatic pressing. The outer shape of the coping was formed using a Procera milling machine, and the copings were vacuum sintered. Results: Titanium copings could be prepared using this method. The density of the sintered copings reached 97% to 99%+ of theoretic density, and the copings show edductile behavior after sintering. Enlarging the tooth preparation die to compensate for the sintering shrinkage could optimize the final size of the copings. Conclusion: Ductile and dense titanium dental copings can be produced with powder-metal processing using coldisostatic pressing, followed by milling and sintering to final shape. The forming technique has, if properly optimized, a potential of becoming a more cost-efficient production method than spark erosion.