Zirconia has taken over the dental world. Between traditional 3Y zirconia crowns, 5Y translucent zirconia crowns, abutments, and hybrids, we deal with this material every day. Finding tools that increase our success and predictability when working with zirconia are vital. In the early days of zirconia crowns, many dentists struggled with cementation. We convinced ourselves that bonding to zirconia was impossible. Fortunately, some really smart material scientists came up with zirconia primers and they changed the way we handle this material. ZR-P zirconia primer by Apex Dental Materials takes that to the next level, giving us some of the highest bond strengths on the market.
What sets ZR-P apart from other zirconia primers is the dual active monomers. Using ZR-P can yield a 40 MPa (megapascal) bond strength to zirconia! That is a monster number. This bond strength makes it possible to provide partial coverage zirconia restorations. In addition to enhancing bonds to zirconia, ZR-P can enhance bonding to alumina, metal, composite, and endo posts. It also will facilitate any bonding you may need for intraoral repairs to fixed restorations.
ZR-P comes in a bottle or syringe and is simple to use. After trying in and adjusting the crown, microetch the intaglio surface and clean it with an appropriate cleaner. Apply two coats of ZR-P and air dry; then cement according to your cement’s instructions. The beautiful thing is how simple this is. It is as simple as scrubbing in two coats of ZR-P to get a 40 MPa bond strength!
Apex Dental Materials was founded by a legend of bonding, Dr. John Kanca. He has built a suite of products that put his bonding knowledge at the forefront. ZR-P is one of Apex’s flagship products and should definitely be in your cementation kit if you are using zirconia. Base hit to center field for Apex Dental Materials!
Joshua Austin, DDS, MAGD, writes the Pearls for Your Practice column in
Dental Economics. After graduating from the University of Texas Health Science Center Dental School, Dr. Austin associated for several years. In October of 2009, he opened a solo general practice in a suburban area of San Antonio, Texas. Dr. Austin is involved in all levels of organized dentistry and can be reached at
[email protected].
