Our British-made ceramic systems have been created to replicate nature, layer-by-layer and blend in with dentition by selecting natural, high-quality ingredients and processing them together to form a unique blend with mechanical and life-like optical properties. Elegant Dent’s porcelains are not only user-friendly but price-friendly too.

NPM alloy frameworks present a challenge of heavy oxide formation, which, even though helps chemical bonding, in excessive amounts will prevent necessary wetting by the ceramic.

Therefore, when working with NPM alloy frameworks formation of oxides should be avoided so that a perfect ceramic to framework bond can be achieved.

An oxidation firing is helpful to remove organic contaminations. The oxide layer which is formed during the firing can give an insight as to what degree the alloy surface has a shrinkage porosity.

Follow the recommendations and instructions of the alloy manufacturer for oxidation firing and subsequent steps. It is important to note from a ceramic standpoint that the oxidation firing should at least be as high as the Wash Opaque firing stated in our firing parameters.

Wash Opaque is available in both paste and powder forms, which is used as the first layer of a PFM restoration to mask the metallic colour and enhance the bonding of the porcelain to the metal framework.

We recommend mixing and diluting our Opaque materials with Elegant Dent Opaque liquid to achieve a desirable consistency. Apply the opaquer in thin and even layers with a glass or plastic spatula. The opaque layer must be even and thin, because thick and/or uneven ceramic can lead to slitting and cracks of the opaque layer.

Avoid using contaminated equipment. Vibrate the crown to even out the coating.

Avoid impurities or bubbles on the surface of the metal crown by sandblasting, cleaning, and oxidating thoroughly. Sandblast the surface with an appropriate grain size of 110-130𝜇𝑚 using a clean abrasive at a 45° angle, 2-3 bar pressure. Thorough cleaning may be performed using an ultrasonic cleaner with distilled water or steam cleaned.

Drying time must not be too short, and we recommended a drying time that is longer than four minutes. Opaque liquid and Opaque materials must not be contaminated with regular water. Fire with sufficient vacuum conditions, check and adjust the vacuum conditions of the furnace if necessary.

The framework of the restoration should be designed in a manner to allow the application of an even thickness layer of porcelain. The moisture content of the ceramic-liquid mixture must be kept as constant as possible during the whole layering process. Gentle tapping can remove liquid binder if the ceramic is often condensate.

Refer to our recommended firing parameters for ceraPRIME® MC as an approximation for all furnaces. Firstly, it must be checked that the furnace corresponds to factory calibration settings. We recommend preparing and firing samples according to our parameters, then adjusting as necessary.

Position the sample on the firing tray at the same height and distance from edges of the tray as usually done with a ceramic crown.

If the edges of the sample are rounded, then it means the firing temperature was too high. If the surface is dull and has a milky-like core, the firing temperature is too low. When the firing temperature is suitable, the fired ceramic has a homogeneous surface with a natural glaze effect, and with edges that have sharp contours.

Avoid using recycled, contaminated, and welded alloys. Ensure the framework is designed appropriately and provides support for the ceramic. It is recommended to make the framework thickness with a minimum of 0.3 to 0.5mm. The CTE of the framework should be within the indicated range.

The firing parameters must be adhered to including drying temperature, drying time, heating time, heating rate, firing temperature, holding time, cooling time, cooling temperature, vacuum start temperature and vacuum end temperature. Ceramic cracks can occur when the drying time is shortened, or a fast-heating rate is used and therefore must be avoided. The furnace must be void from contaminants and cleaned well before application.

Incisal cracks may occur when a thick dentine layer is applied and/or when the cooling time is too short and/or a metal framework design that is insufficient.
This can be avoided by applying an appropriate dentine layer, extending cooling times and designing an appropriate framework.

Elegant Dent ceramics contain leucite and most of the time ceramic cracks during this process occur because a conventional leucite-free ceramic which are available on the market was used.

Thanks to the inclusion of leucite crystals this will be avoided in Elegant Dent if firing parameters are adhered to and complete crystal formation occurs, cracks will be avoided. However, using an uncalibrated furnace may lead to insufficient or over sintering which can lead to a more glassy phase and can be susceptible to cracks when contouring.

Please refer to suggested firing parameters and use a calibrated furnace.

One of the benefits of using ceraPRIME® MC is having reliable shade reproduction with a 99.5% shade accuracy!

To achieve proper colour, you must ensure to prevent the furnace being contaminated by volatile materials. To clear a furnace of any volatile materials, raise the furnace temperature from 650°C to 960°C and hold for 10 minutes under vacuum conditions.

Make sure that the Dentine and Transpa layers are sufficiently applied.

Lack of a gloss effect can be caused by having too low of a firing temperature, a contaminated and unclear surface after carving & contouring, or a condensed glaze layer. Avoid this by firing at a suitable temperature, cleaning the ceramic surface before glaze application and firing, apply an appropriate layer of glaze.

Contrary, too much of a gloss effect can be caused by very high firing temperatures. This can be avoided by lowering the firing temperature.

Please refer to suggested firing parameters and use a calibrated furnace.

The glaze firing can be performed without the use of Glaze materials. Although, the advantage of using Glaze materials is that the technician can control the desired level of glaze in a restoration and can be achieved more efficiently.

The difference in the final look that a natural glaze of the fired ceramic has, is a more satiny gloss, whereas the use of glaze materials can result in higher gloss effects.

You cannot use ceraPRIME® MC Stains & Glaze on zirconia restorations as the CTE has been designed perfectly for PFM cases. This specificity ensures that there is no separation of ceramic and stain layers, and a perfect bond is ensured.