The long term objective of this program is to provide a superior dental ceramic prosthesis material and fabrication system to replace current gold and procelain based technology.
The aim of the Phase I project is to develop a new ceramic reinforced-glass-ceramic material with optical characteristics similar to natural teeth and with strength improved by more than a factor of two compared to the current most competitive dental ceramic. The new material should allow construction of all-ceramic bridges and crowns with a minimum thickness on occlusal surfaces of 0.75mm or less, which is half of the current allowable minimum for ceramic crowns. In Phase II of the program, the material and fabrication system will be optimized, and clinical testing initiated. The proposal involves use of modern colloidal processing techniques and an understanding of composite design in brittle materials to identify several promising ultra high strength systems which will be experimentally evaluated. There is a strong potential for commercial application of the material/system.
