Source: These restorations were created by DT Florian Roth, Hennef, Germany.
Microhybrid composites in everyday CAD/CAM: A real alternative for the veneering step
Trying to balance the priorities of digital efficiency and aesthetic excellence, dental technicians ask themselves what veneering strategy to use in everyday work. The use of microhybrid composites as an alternative to veneering porcelains is often discussed, especially in the case of CAD/CAM monolayer restorations, provisionals or combined dentures. But what exactly are their specific strengths?
Digital efficiency comes at a cost, often in terms of aesthetics. CAD/CAM milling and 3D-printing have made everyday work more efficient, plannable and reproducible for dental laboratories. Monolithic zirconia restorations, milled PMMA structures or printed objects are functional and durable, but have their aesthetic limitations in many cases. Shade nuances, depth effects and surface characteristics can usually be reproduced only to a certain extent with exclusively digital techniques. Veneering will quite frequently be indispensable for creating individualised restorations.
Veneering composites and veneering porcelains: Different strengths, different roles
Porcelain veneering is considered the supreme discipline. Numerous modern ceramic systems have been adapted to suit digital workflows. In parallel, state-of-the-art light-cured veneering composites have become more important. Microhybrid composites like CERAMAGE and CERAMAGE UP have expanded the range of dental laboratory materials by a pragmatic option for finalisation.
CERAMAGE not just veneers CAD/CAM frameworks – it completes them.
Composite veneering: Typical applications
Microhybrid composites like CERAMAGE and CERAMAGE UP prove their worth especially where digital fabrication meets the wish for individual finalisation:
- Frameworks made of nonprecious alloys, for example
- Provisionals made of 3D-printed resins or milled PMMA blanks
- Permanent restorations made of zirconia or PMMA
- Removable restorations with individualised gingival parts
Composites do not replace porcelains, but give users the freedom to individualise digitally fabricated restorations in a straightforward and cost-efficient way.
Material properties of microhybrid composites
The term “microhybrid” describes a sophisticated material composition: Ceramic filler particles of different sizes are embedded in a polymer matrix. While microfine particles softly scatter light and create natural opalescence and homogeneous surfaces, larger fillers ensure mechanical stability. CERAMAGE consistently puts this principle into practice. The composite offers sculptability without slumping, good polishability and well-balanced strength and elasticity.
Whether used separately or in combination
CERAMAGE and CERAMAGE UP are two light-cured microhybrid composites designed for different application and sculpting approaches. Both veneering systems are based on a structured layering concept with well-matched materials and offer considerable creative freedom. Their thixotropic consistency allows users to almost artistically work with shape and form, without losing control of layer thicknesses and transitions.
CERAMAGE is handled with a spatula and suitable for structured aesthetic build-up and individual layering. CERAMAGE UP is a ready-to-use, low-viscosity microhybrid composite and can be applied directly from the dispenser. The flowable, but also controllable materials can be freely sculpted, contoured and combined with each other – even if used together with a classic layering technique.
Whether used separately or in combination, CERAMAGE and CERAMAGE UP cover a wide range of indications – from aesthetically challenging anterior and posterior restorations to provisionals. The two materials complement each other within the system, offering different application options in everyday dental laboratory work with digital techniques.
ClearForm X, a transparent silicone material, makes another component available to the workflow: Combining a digital morphology, a transparent silicone index and CERAMAGE UP, dental technicians can also extraorally mould restorations using injection techniques – in addition to well-established sculpting and layering concepts.
Versatile system:
The two materials complement each other within the system: CERAMAGE for structured, aesthetic build-up and individual layering, and CERAMAGE UP for even more individual appearances of anterior and posterior restorations.
Using microhybrid composites in a digital workflow
A great advantage of veneering composites is the fact that they can be used without any thermal processes. Stresses, which may occur in porcelain veneering, especially when used on zirconia, hardly play any role. Moreover, shade effects, translucency and surface characteristics can be assessed and adjusted during application.
Microhybrid composites also have their strengths when it comes to surface treatment. They can be efficiently polished using Dura-Polish (for pre-polishing and polishing) and Dura-Polish DIA (for high-gloss polishing) to create a dense surface with low plaque accumulation. Besides, these composites are repairable and expandable.
Practical benefits at a glance
- Repair-friendliness: easy corrections and additions.
- Creative leeway: aesthetic fine-tuning by layering or staining techniques.
- Time and cost-efficiency: no furnace, no firings, no waiting times.
- Risk minimisation: no thermal stresses acting on the framework.
True peace of mind: If a restoration needs to be adjusted later, microhybrid composites can be expanded in a modular technique without a great deal of preparation.
Improving the surface finish by temporary sealing
The surface finish also plays a key role, especially in polymer-based restorations, such as provisionals or temporaries.
Here the temporary coating material SHOFU RESIN GLAZE comes in handy. This light-cured material can be used to very thinly coat restorations with a smooth, glossy protective layer. The result is a temporary seal, substantially reducing abrasion, discoloration and plaque accumulation.
For the temporary sealing of prefabricated teeth, acrylic-based denture base materials, PMMA and hybrid-ceramic CAD/CAM materials, indirect composites etc.
“CERAMAGE meets digital”: Combining digital efficiency with traditional craftsmanship
The microhybrid composite CERAMAGE is not a competitor to veneering porcelains, but a pragmatic complement. It bridges the gap between digital fabrication and individualised aesthetics in everyday laboratory work. Whether printed provisionals, complex combined dentures or monolithic zirconia restorations – CERAMAGE allows users to combine digital efficiency with the creativity of the craft. Innovative technologies and materials open up new paths, but what remains indispensable is an eye for details, a feel for form and colour and the craftsmanship that characterises the dental technician’s profession, giving restorations their special, individual quality.
Applications of microhybrid composites. CERAMAGE…
Source: These restorations, including drawings, for “CERAMAGE meets digital” were created by DT Inga Potoczna, Saarbrücken/Güdingen, Germany.
Bonding: Key to success
Whether analogue or digital restorations – the bond created between framework and composite is a key factor for their longevity. Various strategies can be used, depending on the framework material:
- Metal alloys (e.g. nonprecious alloys): mechanical retention by specific surface pretreatment (sandblasting, retention beads etc.)
- Resins and ceramics: chemical bonding, e.g. with the aid of silanes, adhesives or primers
Special attention should be paid to zirconia. This material is considered challenging – not least when subjected to thermal processes. Here light-cured microhybrid composites like CERAMAGE offer an alternative approach: Restorations can be veneered without firing, but still with reliable bonding.
Shade characterisation: LITE ART light-cured paste stains
Be it classic composite veneering, long-term temporaries or prefabricated teeth – LITE ART paste stains can be used to specifically individualise a variety of restorations. Upon application, the stains impress with their microfine particle structure, homogeneous consistency and high opacity, even when used in thin layers.
Fine accents can be easily created by adding layers of Incisal or Translucent materials to the cured stains.
Today, digital fabrication, modern materials and structured workflows characterise everyday work in dental laboratories. Techniques used combine material expertise, digital planning and skilled craftsmanship. Microhybrid composites provide a useful addition to this environment.
Kindly supported by Annett Kieschnick, freelance dental journalist
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