Sameer Puri D.D.S. We have all been waiting for it and now its a reality. At the IDS meeting, there were lots and lots of new blocks that were shown. I think one of the most exciting blocks is the bridge block that will be released by Ivoclar.
Ivoclar will be releasing a 32mm eMax block that can be milled to a full contour bridge. What's the catch? Well, your connector thickness needs to be enough and Ivoclar recommends at least 16mm squared. When you mill the bridge, make sure that you don't use disks to contour your embrasures. Disks will create stress points that can lead to fractures. A thin diamond to enhance the embrasures is appropriate but be careful and don't make these too thin. Where can we use these blocks? My recommendation right now is for anterior bridges. Although Dr. Kern from the University of Kiel recently published some interesting data that showed that full contour eMax bridges had a higher success rate than pfm bridges, I still think that you need to approach this with caution. Anterior bridges from full contour eMax are already being done by labs with good success and you will be able to mill these bridges with your CEREC as soon as the blocks are released in the US. This is promising because with the upcoming eMax abutment blocks, we now have two great solutions to restore missing teeth. Bridge blocks and abutment blocks. I will write about the abutment blocks a bit later as I have some videos that I will be producing as well on them.
