What to do when Zirconia Crowns Don’t Fit Right
Kingsport, TN
Zirconia crowns are gaining popularity and quickly becoming a go-to treatment that provides strength, durability, and a natural smile for teeth with significant damage. Unfortunately, even though some dentists offer zirconia crowns, they may not possess the experience necessary to cement them, which can lead to ill-fitting crowns and put the patient’s oral health at risk. Therefore, our dental lab experts at Premier Dental Arts share on the blog today what to do when zirconia crowns don’t fit right.
Why do crowns not fit right sometimes?
There are many reasons why a dental crown may not fit or become unstable. However, rushed production can dramatically increase errors and may result in incorrect margins. Unfortunately, open margins allow bacteria under the crown and may result in decay or periodontal issues. Another cause is if the restoration doesn’t get cemented properly. Therefore, dental team members should meticulously check the crown before cementation and ensure no visible gaps. Lastly, the patient’s impression could be questionable if there is drag or pull marks, air pockets, poor impression materials, missing impression data, or inaccurate marginal impressions. If so, it could influence crown production and the result.
Debonding Solutions
It may be necessary to experiment with a new cementation technique if you notice that your zirconia crowns are coming loose. Before using pumice to clean the teeth, try the crown on your patient’s tooth to check the margins, bit, and fit. Next, if the crown doesn’t include a built-in primer, you must clean the intaglio surface before applying any priming chemical or glue. Lastly, you’ll want to cement the crown, tack the cure, and clean off any excess cement. While these are standard methods, they may fail if you don’t adequately decontaminate the intaglio surface before bonding.
Effective Phosphate Group Removal
Phosphate groups prevent zirconium oxide from bonding to its locations in the mouth. Thus, it’s essential to remove them before you use zirconium oxide. Without phosphate removal, zirconia crowns are at high-risk for failure. So, our dental lab professionals share three effective phosphate group removal practices to help you achieve a secure bond every time.
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Sandblasting
Though not always advised, most manufacturers suggest a gentle, low-pressure sandblasting using aluminum oxide grit no larger than 50 microns. Before using this procedure, check the manufacturer’s guidelines.
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Sodium Hypochlorite
Clean the crown’s intaglio using cotton soaked in sodium hypochlorite or full hydrogen peroxide at a 5% concentration. Then, remove the cleaning solution, and air-dry the repair.
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Ivoclean
Use specialized products like Ivoclean. Don’t rinse the crown for twenty seconds after applying the solution. Then, expose the crown to air for drying, and once dry, it’s ready for bonding.
What to do when your patient’s crown “rocks”
You may have a zirconia crown that fits appropriately but rocks facial-lingually, which makes fitting crowns more challenging. Our professional dental lab techs explain that any patient tooth imperfections get eliminated from the digital picture since milled restorations have flat interior surfaces and won’t fit over irregularities or undercuts. Fortunately, conventional versions employ a die-spacer to produce a gap of 50-100 microns. When manufacturing zirconia restorations, have a team member configure the computer software to generate well-fitting margins and determine the fit surface-to-prep site distance. This easy step does the same thing as a traditional die-spacer and keeps zirconia crowns from rocking from front to back.
Premier Dental Arts
Dental crowns that don’t fit right can create a frustrating situation for the dentist and the patient. Therefore, your dental office must express extra care when preparing treatments for dental crown patients. However, with the appropriate patient details and our expert dental lab techs at Premier Dental Arts, we can create the perfect crown that fits on the first visit. Together, we can build trust with your patients and develop strong relationships. To find out more information about our zirconia crown manufacturing process or to set up an account, please call (888) 732-5221 or contact us online today.