Manufacture of dental restorations by electroforming

摘要

The subject of this presentation is the manufacture of dental restorations. Normally precious metal-ceramic dental restorations are manufactured in the first step by casting gold alloys by the lost-wax procedure. To optimize the aesthetics of dental restorations, the cast metal frames are subsequently veneered with feldspar based ceramic. With this technology all kind of fixed dentures from inlays to bridges can be manufactured. A newly developed alternative to the casting process is the manufacture of inlays, crowns, caps and in special cases bridges by an electroforming process. In this case crown copings of gold with thickness between 200 and 300μm are produced within 7 to 9 hours (as a rule overnight). During the electroforming process silver metallized plaster patterns of the reduced anatomical tooth form are plated with gold. Afterwards, the plaster and silver are removed from inside the cap with nitric acid. Similar to the casting technology, the caps are veneered with ceramic by the dental technician. The advantage of this technology is the use of pure gold and ceramic, both materials of high biocompatibility. An excellent and superior fit of the crown to the plaster pattern and therefore to the tooth is assured.