State of the art of zirconia for dental applications.

Zirconia has been recently introduced in prosthetic dentistry for the fabrication of crowns and fixed partial dentures, in combination with CAD/CAM techniques. This review encompasses the specific types of zirconia available in dentistry, together with their properties. The two main processing techniques, soft and hard machining, are assessed in the light of their possible clinical implications and consequences on the long-term performance of zirconia. An update on the status of clinical trials occurring worldwide is provided.