This year’s CEREC Day was organised by Dr Andreas Kurbad, who is the founder of the CEREC Masters Club, an independent CAD/CAM study group and training facility for dentists and dental technicians.

As the success of any restoration depends on the choice of clinically proven materials and their proper processing, this topic was given a great deal of attention, focusing on all-ceramic solutions. In the absence of a standard solution, zirconia and lithium disilicate are definitely on the rise, not least owing to the popularity of monolithic restorations.

Zirconia is widely accepted by both practitioners and patients owing to its versatility in use and its favourable physical properties. The processing can be time-consuming and delicate and belongs in the hands of experienced dental technicians. This type of material is not available as a typical chairside solution. The dentist prepares the teeth in accordance with the requirements of all-ceramic restorations and can cement the zirconia restorations from the technician either conventionally or adhesively.

Lithium disilicate is available in various translucencies, as ingots for pressing or as prefabricated blocks for CAD/CAM processing. It is characterised by universal usability, processing and cementation, thereby reducing the material that needs to be stocked in the dental office.

Lithium disilicate CAD/CAM blocks were only available in partially crystallised form, thus needing to be fired after milling, or in a zirconia-reinforced form, altering the properties of pure lithium disilicate. GC has now launched its Initial LiSi Block, a fully crystallised lithium disilicate block. As presented by Kurbad in his 1-hour lecture, the new block is a true chairside product for one-appointment dentistry, which can help save up to 40% in processing time. Kurbad illustrated the smooth workflow with this block and emphasised the various possibilities for its finishing, involving polishing or characterising with Initial Lustre Pastes and Spectrum Stains. Luting was done with the new self-adhesive resin cement G-CEM ONE from GC.

The next CEREC Day will be held on 16 and 17 September 2022.

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