They are! At least compared to an acrylic denture. The full zirconia arch will definitely take some getting used to. The biggest complaint is the sound they make if you clack your teeth together. But, the advantage is you can eat a regular diet with no restrictions. It's as close as you can get to your natural teeth.
@@englishfam9675 Porcelain looks better aesthetically than zirconia as a general rule. The issue with porcelain is that the techniques involved in creating a crown or bridge are difficult. It takes years to master layering porcelain and it is getting increasingly hard to find lab techs skilled enough to produce restorations of that caliber. It is much easier to digitally design and mill a crown from zirconia. A well made zirconia crown is a better restoration than a poorly made porcelain crown. Also, zirconia is much less likely to fracture or cleave than porcelain. As far as using individual implants for each restoration goes, I agree it is not natural to have your teeth connected. However, having 16 single unit implants is a lot of surgery. The All on "X" typically only uses 4 or 5 implants. It's a lot less trauma for the patient. There are some trade-offs involved when choosing a zirconia restoration compared to porcelain but we believe the modern zirconia has come far enough aesthetically to warrant full arch and anterior restorations. We discontinued our porcelain work at Utica Dental Lab two years ago. Unfortunately, It is a skillset that is disappearing with the previous generation as they retire.
That doesn't look beautiful to me. The teeth aren't separated well, there's no transparency (even acrylic teeth look more natural), and the transition from the prosthesis to the real gums is a massive food trap. My main complaint with these solutions is, that technically they might be the top of the dental profession but in reality there are so many drawbacks. Sorry to say that.
There are pros and cons to all denture/full arch solutions. It's important to point out that there is no like-for-like replacement for natural teeth. Every edentulous solution will have inherent drawbacks. People have differing opinions. It's ok to prefer other options for aesthetics. Generally, the trade off for more high aesthetic solutions is a reduction in durability and flexural strength. Zirconia lacks translucency and brilliance compared to something like porcelain, but the material should last a lifetime. One advantage to a single unit milled zirconia arch is it only requires 4-6 implants to hold in place. It's true there is no separation between teeth, but the patient doesn't need 16 single unit implants either. Food absolutely will get trapped between the gums and the prosthesis. Daily care and maintenance is required to keep them clean. It is important to remove plaque around the implants as poor oral hygiene can lead to decay and the failure of the implant. Dentists should provide their patients with instructions and tools to properly clean the prosthesis and gums. An all on "X" implant prosthesis may not be the perfect solution, but from a functionality stand point it is as close as someone can come to natural teeth. Once placed and healed, there are no restrictions on what a person can eat. With proper care, the arch should last a lifetime. Also, there is a minimal risk for advanced bone loss of the jaw, compared to acrylic dentures that wear down the bone ridge the longer they are used. Unfortunately, modern dentistry has only come so far to replace lost teeth. Patients need to understand that once natural teeth are pulled, it will require an adjustment to lifestyle no matter what option a patient chooses to replace them.
Check out the full protocol here!
uticadentallab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Zirconia-Arch-Protocol-Final.pdf
What paint do you use for the gums?
Hello there! I was wondering what stains you use for your tissue? Is it the myio system? That has a bit of thickness and depth look to it?
They look heavy!
They are! At least compared to an acrylic denture. The full zirconia arch will definitely take some getting used to. The biggest complaint is the sound they make if you clack your teeth together.
But, the advantage is you can eat a regular diet with no restrictions. It's as close as you can get to your natural teeth.
@@UticaDentalLab what about porcelain and each individual tooth connected separately?? Looks more natural no ??
@@englishfam9675 Porcelain looks better aesthetically than zirconia as a general rule.
The issue with porcelain is that the techniques involved in creating a crown or bridge are difficult. It takes years to master layering porcelain and it is getting increasingly hard to find lab techs skilled enough to produce restorations of that caliber.
It is much easier to digitally design and mill a crown from zirconia. A well made zirconia crown is a better restoration than a poorly made porcelain crown.
Also, zirconia is much less likely to fracture or cleave than porcelain.
As far as using individual implants for each restoration goes, I agree it is not natural to have your teeth connected. However, having 16 single unit implants is a lot of surgery. The All on "X" typically only uses 4 or 5 implants. It's a lot less trauma for the patient.
There are some trade-offs involved when choosing a zirconia restoration compared to porcelain but we believe the modern zirconia has come far enough aesthetically to warrant full arch and anterior restorations.
We discontinued our porcelain work at Utica Dental Lab two years ago. Unfortunately, It is a skillset that is disappearing with the previous generation as they retire.
That doesn't look beautiful to me. The teeth aren't separated well, there's no transparency (even acrylic teeth look more natural), and the transition from the prosthesis to the real gums is a massive food trap. My main complaint with these solutions is, that technically they might be the top of the dental profession but in reality there are so many drawbacks. Sorry to say that.
There are pros and cons to all denture/full arch solutions. It's important to point out that there is no like-for-like replacement for natural teeth. Every edentulous solution will have inherent drawbacks.
People have differing opinions. It's ok to prefer other options for aesthetics. Generally, the trade off for more high aesthetic solutions is a reduction in durability and flexural strength. Zirconia lacks translucency and brilliance compared to something like porcelain, but the material should last a lifetime.
One advantage to a single unit milled zirconia arch is it only requires 4-6 implants to hold in place. It's true there is no separation between teeth, but the patient doesn't need 16 single unit implants either.
Food absolutely will get trapped between the gums and the prosthesis. Daily care and maintenance is required to keep them clean. It is important to remove plaque around the implants as poor oral hygiene can lead to decay and the failure of the implant. Dentists should provide their patients with instructions and tools to properly clean the prosthesis and gums.
An all on "X" implant prosthesis may not be the perfect solution, but from a functionality stand point it is as close as someone can come to natural teeth. Once placed and healed, there are no restrictions on what a person can eat. With proper care, the arch should last a lifetime. Also, there is a minimal risk for advanced bone loss of the jaw, compared to acrylic dentures that wear down the bone ridge the longer they are used.
Unfortunately, modern dentistry has only come so far to replace lost teeth. Patients need to understand that once natural teeth are pulled, it will require an adjustment to lifestyle no matter what option a patient chooses to replace them.