Zirkonzahn dedicates entire factory to Prettau® zirconia production

After Premolaris and Molaris I and II, Caninus is Zirkonzahn’s most recent production site located in the heart of the Dolomite Mountains, specifically built to broaden their Prettau® zirconia production. As unique as these natural monoliths, Prettau zirconia takes its name from the farthest village of the Aurina Valley in South Tyrol and was conceived for aesthetic restorations, from single crowns to monolithic full arches – the so-called Prettau Bridges. The Prettau line includes different zirconia typologies, available in white blanks for further characterisation, pre-coloured and with colour gradient for optimal aesthetics. Blanks are available in different heights (from 5 mm to 40 mm) and diameters - Ø 95, Ø 98 with step, Ø 106 mm, as well as mini blanks to mill single crowns in hardly used colours.

Zirconia restorations are meant to stay in the patient’s mouth for long periods, or in most cases, permanently, which makes the matter of quality even more important. This is why Zirkonzahn’s work philosophy dictates that nothing must be produced under economic or time constraints. Prettau is manufactured with no compromises, using raw materials accurately selected from reliable suppliers. Upon arrival, the powder undergoes strict controls for quality assurance and, working without constraints, much time can be dedicated to the development of the most refined working processes, in close collaboration with the in-house R&D department. To achieve high homogeneity, the raw material is pressed biaxially and/or isostatically and the most advanced technologies are used to obtain the best aesthetic and mechanical properties. In the last few years, the company’s range of zirconia has embarked even more on the path of monolithic design with the new Dispersive® line, which includes materials that are already characterised with a natural colour gradient during the manufacturing process, making manual colouring no longer necessary. The gradient is provided through a specially developed technique that does not blend colours into layers but disperses them evenly, lending restorations a beautiful and natural aesthetic.

A perfect example of the company’s constant strive for quality and sophistication is the innovative Gradual-Triplex-Technology, which provides the new Prettau 3 Dispersive material with a triple gradient of colour, flexural strength and translucency, achieving a perfect balance of resistance and aesthetics. Each production batch is accurately checked after every production step, via specific tests and measurements.

In this way, a blank’s properties of hardness, dimensions, density, milling, colour and translucency as well as the material’s shrinkage factor are constantly controlled, using close-tolerance instruments. Once the production step is concluded, final controls are run on each blank.

Being the sole process owners allows Zirkonzahn to have a complete understanding of their products, ensuring that they form an optimum match in the complete workflow.

The in-house R&D team constantly works to improve and fine-tune solutions to create a reliable planning and working environment, where hardware, software, tools and materials fit together according to a perfect dental-technical logic. The full control over the testing and production procedures gives the company the possibility to react very quickly to the customer’s needs, not only through constant product optimisation but also through their wide range of comprehensive education courses (“Die Zirkonzahn Schule” – The Zirkonzahn School), where participants are trained on the usage of equipment and materials with no knowledge gaps.