Cercon® - Smart Ceramics

In 1995 the first "all ceramic teeth bridge" was invented at ETH Zurich based on a process that enabled the direct machining of ceramic teeth and bridges. Since then the process and the materials were tested and introduced in the market as CERCON® - Smart Ceramics. The new system consists of materials, processes, and a new computer aided manufacturing machine (CAM).

The approach is to machine a pre-fabricated ceramic blank made of zirconia ceramics with a nano-crystalline porous structure in the pre-sintered state (see Fig. 2). After machining the soft ceramic component in the pre-sintered state, it is sintered and thereby shrinks to its? final dimensions. This shrinkage is designed to take place very homogeneously in all spatial directions. The new machine fabricates the complex shape of dentures from the ceramic blanks with high accuracy in an easy, fast, and fully automated way. The machined component obtains its high hardness, high strength, and toughness after the machining step during the final sintering. The veneering of the high strength ceramic framework then adds the required aesthetic and wear characteristics.

This system was developed and tested for the fabrication of all-ceramic dental bridges and crowns. Its clinical indication was proven in controlled studies at the University of Zurich, Clinic for Fixed and Removable Prosthodontics. It showed the superiority characteristics of the new material in respect of highest esthetics demands, excellent biocompatibility and absence of hypersensitivity reactions offering higher quality of live.

CERCON® - Smart Ceramics: From Research to Market

The dental supplier Degudent introduced this invention in the market in 2001 as the new CERCON® - Smart Ceramics system opening up a new era of ceramics in dentistry.