Why is Zirconium becoming so popular for fabricating restorations?

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Going for the Gold?

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On the left is the older allow, on the right the new one that my lab has chosen to use The cost of a penny weight of pure gold is currently $79.53. The cost of a penny weight of pure palladium is $130.6. It used to be that palladium was added instead of gold to the precious metals often used for pfms, but now laboratories are finding that palladium is no longer affordable. The lab that I am using has just changed the formulation of the metal it's using to one that has more gold than palladium. I really do not mind, but metals with more gold are softer and often easier for a dentist to accidentally polish off delicate margins. It is important when polishing "higher gold" formulations to exert less hand pressure when performing the final polishing of the crown's margins. Other wise there should be no problem with this change. Traditionally labs have chosen alloys with higher gold percentages for optimal esthetics, since alloys with higher concentrations of ...
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Why is my denture loose???

Some Patients may  have shrinkage of their jaw bone(s) after the denture was inserted and experience lack of seal. While bone resorption may play a role, in my experience there are a number of other possible causes.  Uneven bite is at the top of my list. If a dentures occlusion is unbalanced, when a patient closes, their denture may loosen. Another common reason is that a patients muscle attachments are being impinged on. Muscle attachments are little bands of fibers that connect the cheeks, lips, and tongue to the jaws. Over and under extended dentures can also cause dentures to be more likely to come loose. Under extended dentures have less surface area to help develop the adhesion to help keep a denture in place. Over extended dentures tend get dislodged by patients facial muscle movement or opening and closing. A patient with a dry mouth may also find that their denture comes loose easily, since adequate saliva is needed for a denture to develop proper adhesion. De...
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Everythings coming up Roses and daffodils?

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 Even though I work hard to do excellent work and send my dental Labs clear impressions, not every lab fabricated restoration fits well in a patient's mouth. Yes, there are times when a restoration does seem to fit without any adjustments needed, but that is not what happens in most cases. Part of a dentist job is to be methodical and check that each restoration is adequate and will actually help preserve a patient's tooth. Our patient may hope that their new crown or filling maybe perfect, but that is not always the case and while it may be true that 'perfection is the enemy of good' , we should not place inadequate restorations in our patients mouth, just because we are afraid to momentarily disappoint a patient or employer. I take a bitewing radiograph when fitting a crown or after I place a new filling. Of course I have my fingers crossed that my new crown or filling fits perfectly, and often it is the case, but sometimes it is not. When this happens, I may try...
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