Aesthetic Ceramics for Dental Restorations

Abstract

Restorations of missing teeth with aesthetic, biocompatible and reliable prostheses are in high demand in our aging societies. With more dental materials available than ever before, optimal materials selection is critical to the success of restorations. This paper reviews current aesthetic dental ceramics and their reliability. A classification of dental ceramics based on their microstructures is presented, and the mechanical properties of these materials are summarized. This classification gives dental clinicians and patients rapid access to data for current dental materials, and it can be used to find the best material match for a given restoration requirement. Finally, this review addresses failures of ceramic restorations due to the brittle nature of ceramic materials, which are a continuing challenge for mechanical and materials engineers, and for dental clinicians.