Why you can always rely on the tooth shades from the VITA press ceramic

Creating a press ceramic that offers excellent shade fidelity and is extremely robust during processing – that was the key goal during the development of VITA AMBRIA. "As a former dental technician, it was particularly important to me to develop a press ceramic that was both robust and esthetic. Nothing is more annoying than realizing after pressing that it hasn't worked“, says Michael Gödiker.

How is the shade fidelity of a press ceramic determined? What procedures and methods does this require? "The first step in achieving correct tooth shading is precise shade measurement", explains Michael Gödiker. In order to ensure that A3 really is always A3, Gödiker follows a sophisticated, standardized test procedure. The interplay between the human being and measurement technology is critical here. "The tooth shade is always also a personal sensory impression, but we want to be sure", emphasizes the developer. That's why at VITA, every material sample is precisely measured and evaluated. Firstly using optical measuring devices, but also ultimately by many different people. "First of all, we develop various test series and test the shade effect of oxides in graduated concentrations", says VITA employee Ewa Moll. She places the samples in her measuring device and verifies the results of the analysis on the screen: "Does the result match the shade standard? Is the translucency correct?" Precision is extremely important here, says this metrologist. The toothcolored press ceramic is only approved for production when human beings and technology no longer question the precision of the result. After all, we want you, the dental technician, to obtain ideal results directly out of the press furnace – without the need for time-consuming reworking or perhaps even repeating fabrication from scratch, says the developer Michael Gödiker.

Precision is also top priority in the production of VITA AMBRIA – so that you as a dental technician really do get pellets that meet the highest quality standards. "The exact ceramic composition is extremely important for the final result. The complicated process begins in the mixing area", explains the engineer Michael Hackner: "Here, we weigh the raw materials so that they are exact to the last milligram. This is essential for precise, reproducible shade reproduction of the ceramic in the dental laboratory." Dirk Scheffelmaier has worked for VITA for over 30 years and is responsible for weighing the ceramic composition so that it is exact to the last milligram. Scheffelmaier carefully mixes the various raw materials with each other in powder form, including oxide pigments or rare earth elements. The exact ceramic mixture determines the shading, but also the crystalline structure and the final strength of the VITA AMBRIA press ceramic: "The important thing is to work in an absolutely clean and precise fashion. Even small deviations will be visible in the final product. If something were to go wrong here, an entire batch would be wasted."

So would you like to know how a VITA AMBRIA press ceramic pellet is manufactured? The ceramic melt and crystallization take two whole days: "Glass is very sensitive", says Michele Pischitello, who is responsible for the multistage melting process. Once again, precision is required. "All steps must take place exactly according to plan, otherwise the shade and the translucency won't be correct later on." It takes eight hours until the material is melted, and it isn't cast until the following day. The hot pellets fall into a collection container. Michele Pischitello uses fire-resistant gloves to protect himself from burns: the temperature of the 6-gram VITA AMBRIA pellets is still around 350  C. Once they have cooled down, they are carefully checked and sorted before the final production step: crystallization.