 Which material would you recommend for this crown?
It is a question dentists regularly ask us at Bremadent. For suitable cases in the aesthetic zone, often described as the first premolar to first premolar, or 4 to 4, our recommendation frequently starts with IPS e.max lithium disilicate. The reason is its ability to transmit light and help us create restorations with natural depth and character. However, choosing e.max is only part of the decision. The preparation underneath, the available ceramic thickness and the patient’s function all need consideration. One of the main difficulties we encounter is receiving the desired crown shade without a stump shade. We know what the finished tooth should look like, but we do not know the colour of the foundation beneath it. This guide explains our approach and the information dentists can provide to help us achieve a more predictable aesthetic result.
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 A dental practice or laboratory can have excellent people and still struggle to keep up with the working day.
The receptionist is answering the phone while helping someone at the desk. A technician stops working to answer a case query. Someone needs a callback, a collection needs checking, and an overdue account needs another reminder. Meanwhile, the owner is trying to work out what happened yesterday and what needs attention today. At Bremadent, these pressures have shaped our interest in an AI dental workforce: digital support that could help with routine communication, administration and follow-through alongside our existing team. Our starting point has been the everyday friction we experience running a busy dental laboratory. How much skilled time goes into finding information, passing messages around and making sure something actually gets done?  A patient needs a partial denture but does not want visible metal clasps. Another wants to replace missing teeth without proceeding with implants or preparing adjacent teeth for a bridge. A third has a confirmed sensitivity to a material used in conventional dentures.
These are situations where Valplast flexible partial dentures may enter the conversation. However, selecting Valplast requires more than knowing that the material bends. The clinician still needs to assess support, retention, stability, oral health and future maintenance. For dentists and the wider dental team, understanding its use cases helps turn a patient’s preference into a considered prescription. At Bremadent Dental Laboratory, we encourage practices to discuss the clinical objective with us before choosing the material. Valplast can offer useful aesthetic and practical benefits in selected cases, provided its design and limitations suit the patient.  An Emax crown can fit beautifully, match the adjacent teeth and still disappoint if the cementation procedure does not suit the restoration. The final appointment brings together material selection, surface preparation, moisture control and curing. Each needs to support the others.
For the lithium disilicate restorations commonly called Emax crowns, successful cementation starts with identifying the exact material and deciding which cementation route the case requires. It then involves treating the crown and tooth as two separate bonding surfaces. There is no single sequence that can be copied across every ceramic, cement and adhesive. Even familiar products may have different instructions. At Bremadent Dental Laboratory, our aim is to help practices connect the laboratory prescription with a clear clinical plan. The crown should arrive for a fit appointment where its material, preparation requirements and intended cementation approach are understood.  A zirconia crown that repeatedly comes off is frustrating for the patient, disruptive for the practice and difficult to explain when the restoration itself looks perfectly intact. The obvious response is to reach for a different cement. Sometimes that helps, but repeated debonding deserves a closer investigation.
A crown can lose retention because of the preparation, internal fit, surface contamination, cementation technique, occlusal loading or failure of the underlying tooth or core. Several factors may be involved at once. For dentists and the wider dental team, the useful question is therefore: what failed, and what needs to change before the crown goes back? At Bremadent Dental Laboratory, we believe these problems are best approached through clear communication between the practice and laboratory. A stronger material does not automatically mean a more retentive restoration, and another cementation appointment should have a clear clinical reason behind it. |
Private Dental Laboratory in London
 Kash Qureshi - Managing Director, Clinical Dental Technician
About the author:
Kash Qureshi is a Clinical Dental Technician (Denturist) in the U.K who oversees and quality controls over 3000+ fixed and removable prosthesis including implant cases from a clinical and technical aspect monthly at Bremadent Dental Laboratory & Swissedent Denture Clinic in London. www.swissedent.co.uk www.bremadent.co.uk [email protected] Categories
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