Dr. Gordon Christensen The Dangers of - Glidewell Dental Labs

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Editor’s Letter
I have been hearing about the death of PFMs for the past
15 years. In fact, the PFM department managers here at the
lab always have a good laugh when I show them a dental
journal with an article by a metal-free clinician predicting
the demise of PFMs within the next three to five years.
While a metal-free style of practice can certainly work for
dentists who passionately believe in metal-free dentistry,
the numbers at the lab tell another story: PFMs aren’t dead.
Most dentists are satisfied with PFMs and continue to prescribe
them in large numbers. After all, PFMs are versatile
and can be used for single units, multiple units and even
roundhouse bridges. Those who want to pretty it up can
always cut a facial shoulder for a porcelain margin or use
an esthetic PFM, such as Captek , in the esthetic zone.
PFMs have long been the workhorse restoration, but then
one day something happened … and that something was
BruxZir ® Solid Zirconia. For 10 years I begged R&D for
a cast gold crown in a shade A2. Jim Glidewell was bugging
them to make a full-contour zirconia crown, just to
see what it would look like. BruxZir got both of us off
their backs.
From the day it launched, BruxZir was a niche product. It
was meant to be an esthetic replacement for cast gold and
metal occlusals, but I started using it to replace broken
PFMs (because those patients had already destroyed
that type of restoration). All of a sudden, dentists started
placing BruxZir everywhere, showing preference for
this high-strength, cementable, monolithic, tooth-colored
material, despite it being “more brawn than beauty.”
The popularity of BruxZir continues to grow, with a recent
sales record totaling 7,300 crowns & bridges in one week!
That makes BruxZir the fastest growing product in the
40-year history of Glidewell Laboratories.
So while PFMs are not dead, the PFM department no longer
laughs at these jokes. We can use BruxZir to do virtually
anything that can be done with a PFM, including
roundhouse bridges. These monolithic restorations seem
poised to replace their bilayered brethren; however, the
change may be measured in decades, rather than years.
Yours in quality dentistry,
Dr. Michael C. DiTolla
Editor- in-Chief, Clinical Editor
mditolla@glidewelldental.com
Editor’s Letter 3