Microshaping of densely sintered zirconia ceramic using femtosecond lasers

For dental restorations, very dense and hard ceramics - especially hot isostatically pressed forms of zirconia ceramics like HIP Y-TZP - have the potential of superseding conventional dental material. Structuring such ceramics with lasers avoids strong tool wear that is unavoidable when using mechanical processes. Another important issue is the crystal structure transformation in the bulk material during the process. For this reason, femtosecond lasers are intended as the key tool for HIP ceramic dental restoration manufacturing units. We demonstrate why lasers in the femtosecond regime are most suitable for these demands and search for optimal structuring approaches to be implemented in dental crown processing. Applications of such processes in connection with dental crowns and bridges include the complete production by shape cutting from solid material, finishing steps, as well as surface structuring for the purpose of optimized cement adhesion.