Lithium Disilicate: Pressing vs Milling

Thanks to its aesthetic benefits, ease of use and profitability, Lithium Disilicate is undoubtedly the most popular material at the moment for the manufacture of oral restorations, and it will surely continue to be so. It is also such a versatile material that it can be used by dentists to produce veneers, crowns and even bridges within the clinic.

If you own a dental laboratory or an oral rehabilitator and want to offer an agile service to your clients, one of the best investments you can make is a system to work with Lithium Disilicate. The first step is to make the decision, the next big question is…

What is better for me, pressing or milling?

The convenience of milling or pressing depends on several factors: If you are a clinician or technician, what is the main demand for materials in the region you are going to work, what volume of production you need, what integrates best with the workflow you already have, and very important, what size investment you want to make.

But we go in parts. Let's see how both systems work and then review the convenience according to the characteristics of your specialty or business.

Pressing Systems

The workflow for a pressing system is completely analogous. If you are going to make a veneer, crown or bridge, you start in the same way, making a wax model. Subsequently, the wax pieces must be invested in a beaker and then do a lost wax process. Now, a lithium disilicate tablet is placed with a plunger in the investment cup and placed in a pressing oven for the time indicated in the program.

The next part of the process is to recover the disilicate piece or pieces from inside the cup, polish them and characterize them to give them life and acquire all the aesthetic characteristics of a real tooth. Here the skill of the technician is crucial as he must use all his expertise to make a perfect match between the natural color of the patient's teeth and the pieces he is manufacturing, using the range of effects available in his ceramic system.

Necessary equipment and materials:

Disilicate tablets

Carbon-free waxes

Polisher

Spacers

Vacuum mixer

wax thread

Investment

Vibrator

Dewaxing oven

pressing oven

Sandblaster

Micromotor

Milling cutters, polishers, cutting discs

Ceramics

glaze

If you are interested in dental lithium disilicate products, please click：https://www.duntal.com/lithium-disilicate/

Brushes