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What is Zirconia?
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Zirconia (ZrO2)
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Zirconia is an industrial ceramic, used as a bioceramic for over 20 years
Uses:
- Hip implants, bone replacements etc.
- High strength applications
- Reliable, stable material
- Biocompatible
- Not simple to process in dental labs.
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Zirconia Oxide is strongest and most reliable dental ceramic available today.
- Strength = 1272 MPa
- A translucent, fine-grained ceramic.
- No infiltration glass needed.
- Very biocompatible, stable.
- Zirconia is the only dental ceramic with transformation toughening - it resists crack growth!
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Transformation Toughening of ZrO2
Transformation Toughening is a unique phenomenon that only occurs in Zirconia Oxide. Unlike regular ceramics (for example, the windshield of a car) when you ping a ceramic or glass, that crack starts and continues to run all the way through the material. Therefore, it will fracture and break.
But with Zirconia Oxide, after a crack initiates, the affected crystals expands by 4% and compression occurs. Consequently, the compression causes the head of the crack to become the strongest part of the crystal, healing itself.
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Photo of actual material under magnification
showing tranformation toughening after a test ping.
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Evolution in Properties of Dental Ceramics |
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