Titanium 3-unit Bridge
July 8, 2010
We received a case last week for which the dentist had prescribed a three-unit bridge with the distal abutment to be a full metal crown. We attempted to cast the framework four times, and each time the casting was loaded with porosity. We tried several different spruing configurations to no avail. With only two days left before the case was due out for delivery, I called the client to ask if he was okay using titanium. Given his permission, we designed the frame in 3Shape and milled it on our Origin Pro 5000 milling machine. The metal finishing essentially entailed blending in the milling connectors, after which we veneered the case with TriCeram porcelain -
Pretty fair result. I think the real beauty of this case is the value. Just for fun, we weighed one of the castings at 8.5 dwts of High Noble White Ceramic Alloy. With gold still in excess of $1200/oz., the alloy would have had a retail price of over $400.
The cost of the titanium? Around $30.
That’s some pretty significant savings, especially in view of the ADA’s decision to classify Titanium restorations slightly below those fabricated with High Noble alloys…
© 2010, Jeff Saylors. All rights reserved.
