Dear Colleagues,

In the last decade, the search for innovative fabrication technologies and novel restorative materials has allowed digital workflows to become increasingly widespread in dentistry, widening treatment scenarios and clinical protocols, particularly in prosthodontics and restorative dentistry.

The introduction of optical impressions and intraoral scanners, as well as the implementation of production lines with CAD/CAM manufacturing and 3D printing, has exploited the operative advantages of new classes of dental ceramics and innovative metal-free restorative materials, significantly improving the biocompatibility, mechanical characteristic, and optical properties of tooth-like prostheses and reconstructions. Moreover, the optimal structural resistance of novel ceramic materials has enabled a reduction in the thickness of restorations, saving, in turn, a significant amount of dental tissue, in accordance with the principles of minimal intervention dentistry. 

Conventional dental ceramics have been compared to polycrystalline cores (such as conventional and translucent zirconia) and high-strength glass ceramics (such as lithium disilicate). Nonetheless, innovative restorative materials have been developed to further improve mechanical and esthetic properties, offer reliable accuracy and precision, and reduce fabrication and chairside time. Consequently, innovative ceramic materials have been recently introduced in the dental market, such as hybrid ceramics and zirconia-reinforced lithium silicates (ZLS).

The physical–chemical profile of such novel restorative materials allows for the reduction in restorative thicknesses, ensuring, at the same time, impressive esthetic and clinical performances; these improvements have dramatically widened the range of clinical options in tooth- and implant-supported prosthodontics.

Clinical operators can profit from these improved ceramics, particularly in the digital workflow, rendering operative steps standardized and easier, thus improving, in turn, patients’ comfort and restorative experiences.

Prof. Dr. Roberto Sorrentino
Prof. Dr. Gianrico Spagnuolo
Collection Editors

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• dental ceramics
• metal free
• zirconia
• lithium disilicate
• ZLS