All-ceramic crowns: bonding or cementing?

Despite the wide variety of all-ceramic systems available today, the majority of dental practitioners hesitate to recommend and insert all-ceramic crowns. This article regards the nature of the ceramic materials, the principles of bonding and adhesion, and the clinical problems of the acid-etch technique for crowns. Advantages and disadvantages are discussed, and the influences of different factors on the strength of all-ceramic crowns are presented. Finally, the conclusion is drawn that conventional cementing of all-ceramic crowns is possible when the specific properties of the ceramics are taken into consideration.